Ernest Albert Toovey

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, OAM (16 May 1922 – 18 July 2012) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and baseball player. In cricket, Toovey was a left-handed batsman who bowled slow left-arm orthodox. He was born at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

, Queensland. Toovey served in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

during World War II, enlisting for service when he was seventeen. He served during the war aboard , where he was present during the Battle of the Java Sea and was also aboard the ship during its sinking at the

Battle of Sunda Strait The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java, and Sumatra. On the night of 28 February 1 March 1942, the Australian light cruiser , American heavy cruiser , a ...

in February 1942. Half of the ship's crew were lost, while the remainder who survived, including

Ordinary seaman __NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount o ...

Toovey, were captured by the Japanese and spent the remainder of the war in Prisoner of War camps. While imprisoned, he reportedly resisted recommendations to have his leg amputated because of an ulcer, telling his captors "You can't take my leg off because I've got to play cricket for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

." His time as a prisoner saw Toovey put to work as part of the forced labour constructing the

Thai-Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

. Following the end of the war and his release from Japanese captivity, Toovey stuck by his wartime aim of playing cricket for Queensland by making his first-class debut for the state against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in the 1949–50 Sheffield Shield. He made 36 further first-class appearances for Queensland, the last of which came against

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 the 1955–56 Sheffield Shield. In his 37 first-class appearances for Queensland, he scored 1,346 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 24.03, with a high score of 87. One of nine half centuries he made, this score came against Victoria in the 1950–51 Sheffield Shield. Following his playing career for Queensland, he served as a selector for the Queensland side, as well as serving on the Queensland panel as chairman for nearly 25 years, before retiring in 1989. He was also the President of

Northern Suburbs District Cricket Club Northern Suburbs District Cricket Club is a cricket club playing in the XXXX Gold premiership, the leading club cricket competition in Queensland, Australia. Northern Suburbs District Cricket Club has produced some of the finest players to rep ...

. Outside of cricket, he played baseball for

and

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, having first played baseball as a prisoner of war in a match between Australia POWs and American POWs, which was organised by the Japanese commandant. He was also prominent in ex-services organisations, holding executive positions in

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

and Australian Prisoners of War Association, for which he received the

and OAM. He died at

Mitchelton Mitchelton is a north-western suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mitchelton had a population of 8,559 people. Geography The suburb is located by road from the Brisbane GPO. Mitchelton is part of the northwestern s ...

, Queensland, on 18 July 2012. His funeral was held at St Brigids Catholic Church, Red Hill, Queensland, on 24 July.

References

External links

Ernest Toovey
at

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Ernest Toovey
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:Toovey, Ernest 1922 births 2012 deaths Sportspeople from Warwick, Queensland Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Australian prisoners of war Australian cricketers Queensland cricketers Australian cricket administrators Australian baseball players Members of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Australia Burma Railway prisoners Royal Australian Navy sailors Shipwreck survivors Sportsmen from Queensland Cricketers from Queensland