John Thomas Shelton (24 January 1905 – 1 May 1941) is a former

Australian rules 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 ...

footballer who played with St Kilda and

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 ...

. He was killed in action in

Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...

in 1941.

"Jack A. Shelton"

As a VFL footballer, he was sometimes known as "J. A. Shelton" (rather than "J. T. Shelton" ), with the "A" most likely a reference to Avenel, in order to distinguish him from the other "Jack Shelton", one John Frederick "Jack" Shelton, a prolific goalkicker, who had been recruited from

Koo Wee Rup Koo Wee Rup is a town and satellite suburb in Victoria, Australia, 63 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Built on former marshland now converted to market ...

in 1926 (and was playing for St Kilda at the same time).

Family

The son of Richard John and Jane Elizabeth Shelton (née Skinner), he was born at

Avenel, Victoria Avenel is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Strathbogie local government area. At the , Avenel had a population of 1,048, up from 728 at the and 552 at the . History The Post Office opened on 2 June 1858. It is frequ ...

, on 24 January 1905. As a young lad of 7, Jack's father had been saved from drowning in swollen Hughes Creek, Avanel, by a young

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

, aged 10. Jack married Winifred "Freda" Emma Planck Gadd (1905–1988) on 26 March 1932. The cousin of Melbourne footballer Bill Shelton, he was the father of John Shelton (born 13 August 1933), and Hawthorn's Bill Shelton (born 13 July 1936), and the uncle of Essendon's Ian "Bluey" Shelton.

Education

He was educated at

Brighton Grammar School , motto_translation = Let us keep pursuing better things , city = Brighton , state = Victoria , zipcode = 3186 , country = Australia , coordinates ...

as a boarder, and he later attended Dookie Agricultural College.

Footballer

Although he began as a forward and rover, throughout his later senior football career he played as an either a backman or in the ruck. He was a tough player who played hard and fair.

St Kilda

He received his clearance to play for St Kilda on 28 April 1926. He played eleven senior games for St Kilda in his first season, playing his first game, on the half-forward flank, against Hawthorn at the

Junction Oval Junction Oval (also known as the St Kilda Cricket Ground, or the CitiPower Centre due to sponsorship reasons) is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The oval's location near the St Kilda Junc ...

on 5 June 1926. He returned to Avenel for the 1927 season; and, rejoined play with St Kilda in mid-1928, resuming his senior career in the eighth round match against Essendon, in the first ruck, at Windy Hill, on 4 June 1928. Shelton played very well in his first game back in the VFL, and St Kilda won by 9 points. He played eleven senior matches for St Kilda in 1928 (rounds 8 to 18 inclusive) and six in 1929, with his last match against Richmond, at the

Punt Road Oval Punt Road Oval, also known by naming rights sponsorship as the Swinburne Centre, is an Australian rules football ground and former cricket oval located within the Yarra Park precinct of East Melbourne, Victoria, situated a few hundred metres to ...

on 13 July 1929 (round eleven).

South Melbourne

He received his clearance to play for South Melbourne on 11 June 1930. He played his first match for South Melbourne, as a back-pocket ruckman, against Hawthorn on 14 June 1930 (round seven). South Melbourne thrashed Hawthorn 17.11 (119) to 9.10 (64), in its first win for the 1930 season. He played the next two matches (rounds eight and nine), and the last four matches of the season, retiring after playing against North Melbourne at the

Lake Oval Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association football club South M ...

on 13 September 1930. He was one of the best players in a team that soundly beat North Melbourne 15.19 (109) to 4.14 (38), having kicked 9.6 (60) to 1.1 (7) in the last quarter.

Avenel

He received his clearance to play for Avenel on 3 June 1931. In 1934, in a match against Nagambie, he broke a collarbone. At the time of his enlistment in the second AIF, in mid-1940, he was still playing football for Avenel, and was the captain of the Avenel team.

Soldier

Both his eldest brother, Private Richard John Shelton (1895–1967), and his second-oldest brother, Sergeant Leslie Norman Shelton (1897–1933),Australian World War I Service Record: Leslie Norman Shelton (2473).
/ref> had served in the

First AIF The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

(they both enlisted on 19 September 1914, with Leslie producing letters of permission from his mother and father). On 23 July 1940, Jack left his farm, "Mittagong", at Avenel and enlisted in the

Second AIF The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

aged 35. After training at Wangaratta, he was promoted to Lieutenant, joined the 2/24th Battalion, and was sent to the Middle East, and then Northern Africa, with the 9th Division. He was killed in action, at

, on 1 May 1941.

Remembered

His name appears on the Roll of Honour (panel 52) at the Australian War memorial. He has no known grave, and is commemorated at the

Alamein Memorial The Alamein Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Egypt. The memorial commemorates 11,866 Commonwealth forces members who died during World War II. The memorial was designed by H ...

, in Egypt.

Honours and awards

1939–1945 Star The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Battl ...

Africa Star The Africa Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in North Africa between 10 June 1940 and 12 May 1943 during the Second World War. Three clasp ...

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

Australia Service Medal 1939–1945 The Australia Service Medal 1939–1945 recognises service in Australia's armed forces, Mercantile Marine and Volunteer Defence Corps during World War II. Award criteria Gazetted in November 1949, initially, the qualifying period was at least 1 ...

Notes

Footnotes

References

* Feldman, Jules & Holmesby, Russell, ''The Point of it All: The Story of the St Kilda Football Club'', Playwright (on behalf of the St Kilda Football Club), (Sydney), 1992. * Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * Main, J. & Allen, D., "Shelton, J.T. 'Jack'", pp. 335–337 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002. * Serle, R.P., ''The Second Twenty-fourth Australian Infantry Battalion of the 9th Australian Division: a History'', Jacaranda Press, (Brisbane), 1963.
Deaths: On Active Service: Shelton, ''The Argus'', Tuesday, 20 May 1941), p.4.

Deaths: On Active Service: Shelton, ''The Argus'', Saturday, 24 May 1941), p.4.

Personal Notes About AIF Casualties: Lieut J. T. Shelton, ''The Argus'', (Friday 23 May 1941), p.5.

Casualty List: Victoria: Killed in Action (Shelton, Lieut. J. T., Avenel, Inf.), ''The Argus'', (Friday, 30 May 1941), p.5.

World War II Nominal Roll: John Thomas Shelton (VX47976)

Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: John Thomas Shelton (VX47976)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty Details: Shelton, Thomas Jack (VX47976)

National Archives of Australia: World War II Service Record: John Thomas Shelton (VX47976)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Jack 1905 births 1941 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (state) People educated at Brighton Grammar School Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) St Kilda Football Club players Sydney Swans players Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army officers