Richard Thomas Eason (20 November 1913 – 13 November 1979) 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 Footscray and

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

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 Alexander Eason (1889–1956), and Sarah Isabel "Sadie" Eason (1885–1950), née Huggett, Richard Thomas Eason was born at

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, ...

on 20 November 1913. His father, Alec, and his uncle, William Eason (1882–1957), were both VFL players and VFL coaches. He married Mary Hemingway in 1939. They had three children.

Football

Footscray (VFL)

Having trained with Footscray in the 1934 pre-season, he was cleared to Footscray from the Footscray Technical School Old Boys Football Club in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) on 26 April 1935.

Essendon (VFL)

One of four players granted a "surprise clearance" from Footscray on 22 June 1937, Eason was granted a permit by the VFL to transfer to Essendon on 23 June 1937. He played in a number of Second XVIII matches for Essendon, and played in two First XVIII matches: against Melbourne, at the MCG, on 17 July 1937, and in the last home-and-away match of the 1937 season, against South Melbourne, at the Lake Oval, on 28 August 1937, as a replacement for the injured

Elton Plummer Elton Wilfrid 'Duffy' Plummer (31 July 1914 – 30 May 1988) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendo ...

Footscray TSOB (VAFA)

He received a permit to return to play for the Footscray TSOB Football Club in the VAFA on 24 April 1939.

Military service

Eason enlisted in the 2nd AIF in November 1939 and served in Libya, Greece, Crete and later Papua New Guinea during World War II. He was awarded the Military Cross for "outstanding courage and coolness" at Arohemi, near

Wewak Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city (seat) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak. Hi ...

, in East Sepik Province, New Guinea on 5 March 1945 when he went within 50 metres of the enemy to bring artillery fire to bear. He fought in a grenade battle against Japanese troops for 12 hours, during which 11 of his escort party were killed or wounded. After the war he went on to become a Brigadier in Australian Army Reserve.

Country Fire Authority

On 1 September 1965 he was appointed for a five-year term as the first permanent Chairman of the

Country Fire Authority The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 21 ...

, and was re-appointed, for a second five-year term, on 1 September 1970.

Death

He died at Sandringham, Victoria on 13 November 1979.Deaths: Eason, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 15 November 1979), p.34.
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Notes

References

* * * Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
World War Two Nominal Roll: Captain Richard Thomas Eason (352005/VX998), ''Department of Veterans' Affairs''.

Military Cross: Captain R T Eason, 2/2 Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

External links

* * 1913 births 1979 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (Australia) Australian rules footballers from Geelong Western Bulldogs players Essendon Football Club players Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian brigadiers Australian recipients of the Military Cross Australian people of English descent {{AFL-bio-1913-stub