Arthur Lewis Carnell (24 May 1909 – 31 August 1942) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the New South Wales Rugby League for North Sydney. He died during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life and rugby career

Carnell was born on 24 May 1909 in

Dungog Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire local government area and at the 2016 census it had a po ...

to parents Arthur Lewis and Regina Hessing Carnell. At the age of twenty-one in 1930, Carnell appeared 9 times for North Sydney as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

Personal life and military career

Carnell was married and worked as a soft goods salesman. He enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 28 March 1940, and was posted to the 2/12th Infantry Battalion on 27 April. Whilst serving with the battalion in November 1940, Carnell was subject to a general court martial for being found outside his barracks without a leave pass, "disobeying a lawful command given by his superior officer", and "offering violence to his superior officer", for which he was found guilty on all counts and given detention for thirty days. He and his battalion participated in the North African campaign, and Carnell served during the

Siege of Tobruk The siege of Tobruk lasted for 241 days in 1941, after Axis forces advanced through Cyrenaica from El Agheila in Operation Sonnenblume against Allied forces in Libya, during the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War. ...

in 1941, during which he was promoted to lance corporal. The battalion was then given a rest period, during which Carnell was admitted to hospital and had his rank demoted to private upon his own request. The battalion was sent to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

in August 1942, and Carnell saw combat during the Battle of Milne Bay, in which he was killed in action on 31 August 1942. Carnell was buried at Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnell, Artie 1909 births 1942 deaths Rugby league players from New South Wales Australian rugby league players Rugby league fullbacks North Sydney Bears players Salespeople Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian military personnel killed in World War II People who were court-martialed Australian Army soldiers Burials at Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery Prisoners and detainees of the Commonwealth of Australia