Bob Tidyman (1891–1916) 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 ...

player and soldier who fell in World War I. A national representative winger, his short club career was played with Sydney's

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

club in the years 1912–15. In 1912 he played Second Grade then 1913 to 1915 First Grade.

Rugby league career

A Queenslander by birth, Tidyman debuted for Eastern Suburbs in 1913 joining a star-studded line-up that included

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...

Wally Messenger Walter Messenger (July 1890 – 1961) was the youngest son of Charles A. Messenger and Annie (née Atkinson). He was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and into the 1920s. He was a state and national representative e ...

Sandy Pearce :''Sid Pearce directs here, for his son, the rugby league footballer of the same name, see Joe Pearce'' Sidney Charles Pearce (born 30 May 1883 and died 14 November 1930 Double Bay, New South Wales), better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Austral ...

Larry O'Malley Larry 'Jersey' O'Malley (1883–1967) was a pioneer Australian rugby league player for the Eastern Suburbs club. He was the fifth Australian rugby league captain and the second from the Eastern Suburbs Club. Before switching codes and joining ...

, Les Cubitt,

Dan Frawley Dan Frawley (1882–1967) was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer, a national representative player. He played his career as a with the Eastern Suburbs club in Sydney and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of t ...

and Arthur "Pony" Halloway who had already posted two premiership victories on the trot in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

and

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

. The 1913 Tricolours were minor-premiers after fourteen regular rounds and thus claimed the overall premiership and in the process permanent possession of the Royal Agricultural Society Shield having now won three successive premierships. Tidyman also played in the

sides who won the

City Cup The City Cup was a rugby league competition involving Australian premiership teams. The post season tournament was a regular feature in the years 1912–1925. City Cups were also played in 1937, 1942 and 1959. The inaugural city cup was contested ...

(a post-season tournament) in 1914 and 1915. He made his representative debut for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1914 and that same year played in two

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

es for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

against the touring

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

side including the famous

Rorke's Drift Test The 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the second ever British national rugby league team or 'Lions' tour of Australasia, where it was winter and matches were played against the Australian and New Zealand national sides, ...

at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

on 4 July 1914 where England, reduced to ten men, held on to defeat Australia 14–6. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 94. Prior to war service, he appeared in an Australian film ''

In the Last Stride ''In the Last Stride'' is a 1916 Australian silent film directed by Martyn Keith based on the 1914 popular action novel by Arthur Wright. The film's star, Dave Smith, was a champion heavyweight boxer who had fought Les Darcy. There was also an ...

'' (1916).

War service

Bob Tidyman was the only one of his team to enlist. He joined the AIF on 6 December 1915, and left Sydney on board HMAT A71 ''Nestor'' on 9 April 1916 as a member of the 11th Reinforcements for the 19th Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division. Tidyman joined the 19th Battalion on France's Western Front on 25 September 1916. The battalion had taken part in the battles at

Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village on ...

in July and August and had suffered terrible casualties. The 19th Battalion was attacking at

Flers, Somme Flers is a commune near the northern edge of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.Somme Offensive The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

of 1916 before winter set in when Tidyman was listed as missing in action on 14 November 1916. A report said: "We gained our objective and took two lines of trenches. We made 50 prisoners. Tidyman was told to look after these prisoners but I think he was sniped taking them down."Rugby League Anzacs
, ''rl1908.com'' His body was not recovered for burial and his name is listed on the Australian Memorial at Villers Bretonneux, along with 11,000 other Australians who fell in France and have no known grave. Tidyman had two brothers in France – William and Christopher Tidyman who both served with the 55th and 17th Battalions. Both were wounded but survived the war. Bob Tidyman Enlistment Record
, ''AIF Project''

Honours and awards

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

* Victory Medal

References

Bibliography

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney * Haddan, Steve (2007) ''The Finals – 100 Years of National Rugby League Finals'', Steve Haddan Publishing, Brisbane

Footnotes

External links

rl1908.com Article on Bob Tidyman

Bob Tidyman at the AIF Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tidyman, Bob 1891 births Australian rugby league players Sydney Roosters players Australia national rugby league team players Australian military personnel killed in World War I 1916 deaths Rugby league wingers Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Queensland Place of birth missing