Carl Bleakley Willis (24 March 1893 – 12 May 1930) was an Australian sportsman who played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

with

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

and

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) as well as

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for Victoria.

Family

The son of Thomas Rupert Henry Willis (1860-1933), and Mary Wilson Willis (1867-1949), née Bleakley, Carl Bleakley Willis was born at

Daylesford, Victoria Daylesford is a spa town located in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, within the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately 108 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. First established in 1852 as a gold-mini ...

on 24 March 1893.

Education

Willis was educated at

Wesley College, Melbourne , motto_translation = Dare To Be Wise , slogan = A ''True'' Education (2010 – Present) , established = 18 January 1866 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender ...

, and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Dental Science (BDSc) in December 1915.

Football

University (VFL)

He was a regular player for University in 1912, his first season.

Tribunal

He was suspended for four weeks after being reported by a steward for punching Fred Hanson in the match against St Kilda, at the M.C.G. on 18 May 1912. It was the first time in VFL history that a player had been suspended by a steward; and Willis was the only University player to be suspended during the club's VFL existence.

South Melbourne (VFL)

He was cleared from University to South Melbourne in the 1915 pre-season. He captained South Melbourne in the 1921 season.

Pioneer Exhibition Game" (London, October 1916)

He played for the (winning) Third Australian Divisional team in the famous "Pioneer Exhibition Game" of Australian Rules football, held in London, on Saturday, 28 October 1916. A news film was taken at the match.

Military service

He enlisted in November 1915 and served as a dentist with the Australian Army Medical Corps Dental Detail. He served if France in late 1916, but was gassed, hospitalised and returned to England, taking charge of a dental unit on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

. He rose to the rank of captain in July 1918. AIF Cricket XI (AWM D00685)

Cricket

His cricket career, which began in 1913–14, continued after he retired as a footballer. Willis represented the Australian Imperial Forces team in 1918 and 1919, and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

from 1914 to 1928. He was selected to tour New Zealand in 1920–21 with the Australian team but was unavailable.

Dentist

He practised dentistry in the Melbourne suburb of

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

until 1929, when he moved to

Numurkah Numurkah ( ) is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, north of Shepparton, in the Shire of Moira. At the , Numurkah had a population of 4,768. History The area was occupied by the Yorta Yorta people prior to ...

in northern Victoria and then to

Tocumwal Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire local government area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne. ...

in New South Wales.

Death

He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on 12 May 1930 in

Berrigan, New South Wales Berrigan is a town on the Riverina Highway in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Berrigan is in the Berrigan Shire Local government in Australia, local government area and contains the Berrigan Shire Council offices. At the , ...

, and was buried at the

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...

on 14 May 1930.Carl Willis Buried, ''The Herald'', (Wednesday, 14 May 1930), p. 5.
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Footnotes

References

* Photographs at third from left, middle row, at :File:Melbourne_University%27s_Inter-Varsity_Team_(Adelaide_1914).tiff
Group portrait of members of the AIF Cricket Eleven (D00685), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''''The (Melbourne) Herald'', (Saturday, 10 January 1920), p.2
an
''Table Talk'', (Thursday, 15 January 1920), p.15.

Football Riot: An Angry Crowd: M.C.C. Ground Rushed: Player Reported, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 9 August 1915), p. 8.

''Pioneer Exhibition Game Australian Football: in aid of British and French Red Cross Societies: 3rd Australian Division v. Australian Training Units at Queen's Club, West Kensington, on Saturday, October 28th, 1916, at 3pm'', Wightman & Co., (London), 1919.
* Growden, G. (2019) ''Cricketers at War'', ABC Books: Sydney. * Holmesby, R. & Main, J. (2007) ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. . * Richardson, N. (2016) ''The Game of Their Lives'', Pan Macmillan Australia: Sydney.
A.I.F. Cricketer's death, ''The (Lismore) Northern Star'', (Saturday, 11 May 1930), p.6.

First World War Embarkation Roll: Lance-Corporal Carl Bleackley Willis (346), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

First World War Nominal Roll: Captain Carl Bleackley Willis, collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

First World War Service Record: Captain Carl Bleackley Willis, ''National Archives of Australia''.

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Carl 1893 births 1930 deaths People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents University Football Club players Participants in "Pioneer Exhibition Game" (London, 28 October 1916) Sydney Swans players Australian cricketers Victoria cricketers Australian dentists Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Imperial Force Touring XI cricketers People from Daylesford, Victoria 20th-century dentists