Reginald Clyde Helmer (22 April 1916 – 24 April 1945) 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 for

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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).

Family

The son of Nils Helmer (1882–1967), and Eva May Helmer (1887–1971), née Hill, Reginald Clyde Helmer was born at Mooroopna on 22 April 1916. He was the nephew of Reginald Valentine Hill, D.S.O., the cousin of

Fred Hawking Fred Hawking (22 September 1909 – 8 September 1988) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the VFL during the 1930s. He was the cousin of Clyde Helmer. Hawking played his career as both a wingman and centreman. He w ...

, and the uncle of Geelong footballer John Helmer. He married Marjorie Mary Frances Gibson (1919–1983), later Mrs. Maurice Steeth, in 1944.

Football

A forward, Helmer could torpedo punt on either foot.

Geelong (VFL)

In 1937 he played a centre half-forward in the Geelong Second XVIII team that won the Second's premiership. In 1938, just his second league season, topped Geelong's goalkicking with 74 goals. In a game that year against Fitzroy he kicked a career best eight goals.

Interstate Team (VFL)

On 29 July 1939 he played at centre half-forward for Victoria against South Australia.

Melbourne (VFL)

He crossed to Melbourne in 1942 but could only manage two games.

South Sydney Football Club (NSWFL)

In 1944 he played for the South Sydney Australian Football Club in the New South Wales Football League.

Military service

During World War II Helmer was a Temporary Warrant Officer in the Australian Army and lost his life in New Guinea after a bomb he was trying to defuse exploded.

Remembered

On 5 May 1945, a minute's silence was observed in Helmer's memory before the match between the South Sydney and RAAF teams at

Trumper Park Oval Trumper Park Oval is a sporting oval in Paddington, New South Wales. The oval is located at the corner of Glenmore Road & Hampden Street, Paddington and is named in honour of Victor Trumper. The oval has a long history of catering for Australian ...

Paddington, New South Wales Paddington is an upscale inner-city area of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Located east of the Sydney central business district, Paddington lies across two local government areas. The portion south of Oxford Street lies wi ...

.Footballers' Tribute to Clyde Helmer, ''The Tribune'', (Tuesday, 8 May 1945), p.8.
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Footnotes

References

Blake, Jim, "Who's Who in Football, No.6: Geelong", ''The Sporting Globe'', (Saturday, 25 May 1940), p.6.
* Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * Main, J. & Allen, D., "Helmer, Clyde", pp. 264–266 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.
World War Two Service Record: WO2 Reginald Clyde Helmer (VX130748)
''National Archives of Australia''.
World War Two Nominal Roll: WO2 Reginald Clyde Helmer (VX130748)
''Department of Veterans' Affairs''.
Roll of Honour Circular: WO2 Reginald Clyde Helmer (VX130748)
Collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
Killed in Action, ''The Sporting Globe'', (Wednesday, 2 May 1945), p.14.

External links

* *
Clyde Helmer
at ''Demonwiki''.
Clyde Helmer
at ''Boyles Football Photos''.
Geelong Seconds 1937
at ''Boyles Football Photos''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Helmer, Clyde 1916 births 1945 deaths Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Geelong Football Club players Melbourne Football Club players Mooroopna Football Club players South Sydney Football Club players Australian Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Victoria (state)