John Filomeno "Percy" Rodriguez (5 January 1893 – 20 March 1917) 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

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

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). Born in Broome,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He was killed in action at France during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

Family

The second of ten children, and the eldest son of pearl fisherman and hotelier Filomeno Francisco "Francis" Rodriguez (1864-1943), and Maud Winifred Gwenevere Rodriguez (1877-1921), née Miller, John Filomeno Rodriguez was born at

Broome, Western Australia Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru people, is a coastal pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. In the the population was recorded as 14,660. It is the largest town in the Kimberley reg ...

on 5 January 1893; he was "the first white boy" to be born at Broome.

Education

Educated at

Christian Brothers' College, Perth Christian Brothers College (CBC), informally known as CBC Perth or The Terrace was an Independent school for boys situated on St Georges Terrace in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. The college opened in January 1894, and the college was a ...

, and Xavier College, Melbourne.

Football

A champion schoolboy footballer at CBC, he was playing senior WAFL football while still at school.

Siblings

* Clarence Albert "Clarrie" Rodruiguez (1896-1952), footballer with

West Perth Football Club The West Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is an Australian rules football club located in Joondalup, Western Australia. West Perth competes in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and WAFL Women's (WAFLW) and is the oldest exis ...

, Subiaco Football Club, and the Claremont-Cottlesloe Football Club. * Joseph Holland "Joe" Rodriguez (1894-1973), footballer with the

Perth Football Club The Perth Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in Lathlain, Western Australia, currently playing in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Representing the south-east area of the Perth metropo ...

. * Richard Patrick Gerald "Pat" Rodriguez (1900 – 1964), footballer with

and Subiaco Football Club, coach of the Claremont-Cottlesloe Football Club, and administrator. * Thomas Angelo "Tom" Rodriguez (1908-), footballer with the Claremont-Cottlesloe Football Club. Percy and Joe played together for Perth before Percy left for Melbourne; Clarrie and Pat played together for both West Perth and Subiaco; and Clarrie and Tom played together for Claremont-Cottlesloe.

Perth (WAFL)

He played 31 games for the

in three seasons, 1910 to 1912, when, on the suggestion of the Perth captain (former Melbourne and University footballer

Harry Cordner Henry Cordner (17 June 1885 – 14 November 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played with both the Melbourne Football Club and the Melbourne University Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family The son of Edwa ...

), he decided to move to Melbourne. He went to Xavier College (1913-1914); however, because he was too old (at 20) for Associated Public Schools' football, he coached at a junior level at the school.

University (VFL)

He played 17 games for University in the 1914 season.

Melbourne (VFL)

The University team withdrew from the VFL competition prior to the 1915 season; and, along with

Claude Bryan Dr. Claude Vivian Joseph Bryan (23 December 1892 – 10 March 1960) was an Australian rules footballer who played with University and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played with Cananore in the TFL both before and after ...

Jack Doubleday Jack Lindsay Doubleday (28 May 1890 – 30 October 1918) was an Australian rules footballer who played with University and Melbourne in the Victorian Football League. Family The son of John Doubleday (1837-1907), and Elizabeth Josephine Double ...

, Roy Park, he was cleared from University to Melbourne on 31 March 1915. In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of ''The Argus'' as follows: ::"In 1914 the Melbourne football team, after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
C. Lilley (seriously wounded), J. Hassett, H. Tomkins (severely wounded), J. Evans (seriously wounded), W. Hendrie, R. L. Park, J. Doubleday (died), A. Best, C. Burge (killed), C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed), J. Brake, R. Lowell, E. Parsons (seriously wounded), A. M. Pearce (killed), F. Lugton (killed), A. George, C. Armstrong, P. Rodriguez (killed), J. Cannole (viz., Connole), A. Fraser (seriously wounded), T. Collins.
These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." — ''The Argus'', 16 May 1919.

Military service

He enlisted in the First AIF in Melbourne on 1 June 1915 under the name of "Percy John Rodriguez". On 3 February 1917 he was promoted to the rank of

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Death

He was killed in action on 20 March 1917 during the

. He has no known grave. His name is listed on the

Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is the main memorial to Australian military personnel killed on the Western Front during World War I. It is located on the Route Villiers-Bretonneux (D 23), between the towns of Fouill ...

. ::Football followers, particularly those connected with the University and Melbourne clubs, will regret to hear of the death in France of 2nd Lieutenant Percy Rodriguez, the former wing player of the two clubs mentioned. Coming from Western Australia, where. although young, he had already earned a reputation as a dashing player, he joined the University Club, and played with them until they withdrew from the league in 1914. In 1915 he played with Melbourne for a time before departing for the front. His dash and daring on the field, and his quiet, unassuming disposition when off, endeared him to all, and his many friends and admirers here will regret exceedingly that his career has been brought to a close all too soon. He was taking the dental course at the University before enlisting.
''The Daily News'', 20 September 1917.'franziska', "Mainly About People", ''The (Perth) Daily News'', (Thursday, 20 September 1917), p.3.
/ref>

Footnotes

References

* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. * Main, J. & Allen, D., "Rodriguez, Percy", pp. 161–162 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen — The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.
World War One Service Record: Second Lieutenant Percy John Rodriguez (4478)
''National Archives of Australia''.
Embarkation Roll: Percy John Rodriguez
Collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.
Australia's Roll of Honor: 286th Casualty List: Killed in Action: Victoria: "Rodriguez, 2nd Lieut. P.J., Claremont", ''The Age'', (Tuesday, 10 April 1917), p.6.

Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: Second Lieutenant Percy John Rodriguez (4478).

Percy John Rodriguez
at ''Broome Anzacs''.

External links

* *
Percy Rodriguez
at "DemonWiki".
Second Lieutenant Percy John Rodriguez, ''Commonwealth War Graves Commission''.

Bronze Memorial Plaque for 2nd Lieutenant Percy John Rodriguez, ''First World War Poetry Digital Archive''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Percy 1893 births 1917 deaths Australian people of Spanish descent People from Broome, Western Australia People educated at Christian Brothers' College, Perth Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People educated at Xavier College University Football Club players Melbourne Football Club players Australian military personnel killed in World War I Military personnel from Western Australia