Claude Terrell Crowl (26 December 1892 – 25 April 1915) was an
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 ...
er who played with
St Kilda 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 ...
.
He was a member of the First AIF, and was killed in action during the
landing at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, in Ottoman Turkey on 25 April 1915.
Family
The son of Richard Terrell Crowl (1851–1923) and Jane Crowl (1851–1918), née Brown, he was born at
Stratford, Victoria on 26 December 1892.
He was the cousin of the Geelong footballer
Captain Joseph Terrell Crowl who was killed in action at Gallipoli on 27 June 1915.
Athlete
He attended Caulfield Grammar School from 1903 to 1905; and, whilst there, he was an outstanding performer in under-age athletics.
At the 1905 Caulfield Grammar School Sports, held on 27 October, he was declared the under-14 champion, having won the 100 yards and 220 yards, and come second in the 440 yards. He was awarded the "Under 14 Cup" having beaten another student, equal on points, in a "run off". Running for the school, he came third in the under-14 100 yards race in the Fourth Annual Victorian School Athletic Championships two weeks later.
Footballer
Although he had been training with Carlton, he played his first senior game for St Kilda, aged 18, against Carlton, at
Princes Park on Saturday, 29 July 1911 (round fifteen).
He was one of nine men who took the field for St Kilda for the first time on that day. The nine were
Alby Bowtell,
Roy Cazaly, Crowl,
Peter Donnelly
Sir Peter James Donnelly (born 15 May 1959) is an Australian-British mathematician and Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Oxford, and the CEO of Genomics PLC. He is a specialist in applied probability and has made contrib ...
,
Alf Hammond
Alfred Richard Hammond (30 July 1887 – 18 July 1961) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).Holmesby & Main (2014), p.357.
Football
One of nine new players in the ...
,
Otto Opelt,
Rowley Smith
John Rowland Smith (18 June 1891 – 17 April 1958) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).Holmesby & Main (2014), p.829.
Football
One of nine new players in the team, Smith played ...
,
Tom Soutar
Thomas William Soutar (16 March 1893 – 14 June 1981) was a professional athlete and an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family
The son of Thomas Soutar, and Margaret Soutar, née ...
, and
Bill Ward — and, including that match, and ignoring
Harrie Hattam
Harrie Lewis Hattam (7 July 1890 – 12 January 1947) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia s ...
(16 games),
Bert Pierce
Robert Bertram Pierce (8 March 1886 – 14 August 1968) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football le ...
(41 games), and
Bill Woodcock
Bill Woodcock (born August 16, 1971 in San Francisco, California, United States) is the executive director of Packet Clearing House, the international organization responsible for providing operational support and security to critical Internet ...
(65 games), the very inexperienced team's remaining fifteen players had only played a total of 46 matches. They were required because many of the regular St Kilda First XVIII players were on strike.
The fact that Crowl played the last of his three senior games in round seventeen, is simply explained: the strike was resolved before round eighteen, and the only player of the nine to keep his place was Cazaly. Crowl played well in his first match in the back pocket of a team that was thrashed by 114 points, 18.21 (129) to 2.3 (15).
He played the next match, against Essendon, also in the back pocket; St Kilda lost by 125 points, 24.19 (163) to 5.8 (38).
In the last of his three senior matches, in round seventeen, against Richmond, he played at centre half-forward. It is not clear whether the selectors thought that his presence would strengthen the forward line, or that his absence would make the back-line less vulnerable; regardless, Richmond won by 87 points, 17.21 (123) to 5.6 (36).
Soldier
He enlisted in the First AIF on 25 August 1914, giving his occupation as a farmer at
Poowong, Victoria
Poowong is a small dairying town located in South Gippsland, in the Australian state of Victoria. At the , Poowong had a population of 360.
It is from Melbourne and about north-west of Korumburra.
History
The first application for land in ...
.
Died
A Private in the 8th Battalion, First AIF, he died in action whilst landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.
Fen McDonald
Fenley John "Fen" McDonald (25 May 1891 – 25 April 1915) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
He was a member of the First AIF, and was killed in action during the ...
who had played his first game for Carlton on the same day that Crowl made his debut for St Kilda, also died in action at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. A special medal named in honour of both men was awarded to the best player on the ground in the match played between St Kilda and Carlton on the hundredth anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.
Remembered
His name appeared on an honour roll at Caulfield Grammar School,
Caulfield Grammar School: Roll of Honour, ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 27 July 1915), p.8.
/ref> and on the Lone Pine Memorial.
See also
*
*
* List of Caulfield Grammar School people
This is a list of notable past students and staff of Caulfield Grammar School and/or Malvern Memorial Grammar School (amalgamated with Caulfield in 1961). Alumni of the school are known as "Caulfield Grammarians" and are supported by the Caulfi ...
Footnotes
References
*
* Wilkinson, I.R., ''The Fields at Play: A History of Sport at Caulfield Grammar'', Playwright Publishing, (Caringbah), 1997.
* Main, J. & Allen, D., "Crowl, Claude", pp. 47–48 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.
* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
Private T. C. Crowl (Obituary), ''The Warrnambool Standard'', (Thursday, 10 June 1915), p.1.
27th and 28th Casualty Lists: Killed: Victoria (Pte. Crowl, C.T., Poowong.— Killed in Action), ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 1 June 1915), p.11.
Killed in Action: Crowl, ''The Argus'', (Wednesday, 2 June 1915), p.1.
Killed in Action: Crowl, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 14 June 1915), p.1.
In Memoriam: Crowl, ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 25 April 1916), p.1.
In Memoriam: On Active Service: Crowl, ''The Argus'', (Friday, 25 April 1919), p.1.
In Memoriam: On Active Service: Crowl, ''The Argus'', (Saturday, 25 April 1925), p.15.
External links
*
World War I Service Record: Claude Terrell Crowl (337)
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Claude Terrell Crowl (337)
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour "Circular": Claude Terrell Crowl (337)
First World War Nominal Roll: Claude Terrell Crowl (337)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Crowl, Claude Terrell (337).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowl, Claude
1892 births
1915 deaths
People educated at Caulfield Grammar School
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
St Kilda Football Club players
Australian military personnel killed in World War I
Australian Army soldiers
Military personnel from Victoria (Australia)