John Thomas Cooper (21 February 1889 – 20 September 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for Fitzroy in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL). He was killed on the Menin Road Ridge whilst serving in the First AIF during the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

Early life

Jack Cooper was the son of Fred and Florence Cooper. He was born in

Fitzroy North Fitzroy North is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Merri-bek, Merri-bek and City of Yarra, Yarra Local government areas of Victo ...

on 21 February 1889, and he attended the Alfred Crescent State School in Fitzroy North. In his youth he was a fine cricketer as well as a highly talented footballer, and went on to be a regular player with the Fitzroy Footballers Cricket Club. He worked for the company of Fitzroy Football Club's president, D.J. "Don" Chandler, as a storeman.Main & Allen, D., (2002), p.41. He and his wife, Margaret Malcolm Cooper, née Fletcher, resided at 38 York Street, Fitzroy North, and had one daughter, Margaret Isabel "Maggie" Cooper (1908–?), who became a teacher.

Footballer

A somewhat thick-set man at and , Cooper was a champion half-back. Recruited from the local team North Fitzroy Juniors, he played his first senior VFL game for the Fitzroy Football Club against Collingwood on 27 April 1907 at Victoria Park. In his first season, he played 11 matches and scored 1 goal. In 1912, after he had been appointed captain of the Fitzroy senior team,a contemporary report spoke of the tough, speedy, skilful, and tenacious Cooper as follows: He played in the Fitzroy team that won the 1913 premiership by defeating St Kilda 7.14 (56) to 5.13 (43) in the 1913 Grand Final Match; he was one of Fitzroy's best players in that match. He was the Fitzroy club's best and fairest player in both the 1911 and 1914 seasons (see Fitzroy FC honour roll#1910–1919), and he was the Fitzroy team captain in 1912, and its vice-captain from 1913 to 1915. He also played eight games for Victoria, including the match against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 10 August 1912, when he captained the Victorian team that lost to South Australia 9.8 (62) to 6.7 (43). In his career with Fitzroy he played 136 senior games and scored 8 goals. He played his last senior VFL game for Fitzroy on Saturday 11 September 1915, in the 1915 Preliminary Final, that was won by Carlton 6.18 (54) to 5.8 (38).

Dealings with VFL Tribunal

He was reported once in his playing career, in the 14 August 1909 match against Carlton at the

Brunswick Street Oval The WT Peterson Community Oval, best known as the Brunswick Street Oval and also as the Fitzroy Cricket Ground, is an Australian rules football and cricket ground located in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, Victoria, Australia. History Aust ...

, for ''charging and striking''; he was suspended for 12 weeks. In the 26 June 1915 match against Carlton at the

, a former Fitzroy player, the Carlton centre half-back and team captain Billy Dick, was reported for striking Cooper; Dick was suspended for 10 weeks.

Soldier

Leaving his employment as a storeman, he enlisted in the 8th Battalion of 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 ...

on 8 November 1915 and left for France on the troopship ''Wiltshire'' on 7 March 1916. In France, Cooper saw action in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. He was only in the trenches for a short time when he was so badly gassed that once his immediate discomfort had been dealt with, he was repatriated to England to allow him to recuperate.Main & Allen, D., (2002), p.42. Having recuperated fully, he played for the (losing) Australian Training Units team in the famous "Pioneer Exhibition Game" of Australian Rules football, held in London, in October 1916, just before returning to active service in France. A news film was taken at the match. Most likely through the effects of the gas, Cooper's throat continued to give him a lot of trouble (he almost lost his voice) and, once again, he was repatriated to England. Although he was sent to

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

for officer training, he never rose above the rank of Lance-Corporal.

Death

He returned to France once more and was killed in action in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, at Polygon Wood, during the

on 20 September 1917. His remains were never recovered. He is commemorated in the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

; and his name appears at panel 52 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial.Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty Details: Cooper, John Thomas (4753).
/ref>

Footnotes

References

* Photographs a
A Victorian Trio, ''The (Adelaide) Evening Journal'', (Friday, 9 August 1912), p.1
and second from right, seated, in second row at :File:Fitzroy_fc_1913.jpg.
''Pioneer Exhibition Game Australian Football: in aid of British and French Red Cross Societies: 3rd Australian Division v. Australian Training Units at Queen's Club, West Kensington, on Saturday, October 28th, 1916, at 3pm'', Wightman & Co., (London), 1919.
* Main, J. & Allen, D., "Cooper, Jack", pp. 39–42 in Main, J. & Allen, D., ''Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War'', Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002. * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.
Footballers in Action: Jack Cooper, ''The Winner'', (Wednesday, 6 December 1916), p.8.

First World War Embarkation Roll: Private John Thomas Cooper (4753), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

First World War Nominal Roll: Lance-Corporal John Thomas Cooper (4753), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

First World War Service Record: Lance-Corporal John Thomas Cooper (4753), ''National Archives of Australia''.

In Memoriam: On Active Service: Cooper, ''The Argus'', (Saturday, 20 September 1919), p.17.

Australian Casualties: List No.350: Victoria: Killed in Action (Cooper, J.T., North Fitzroy, 20/9/17), ''The Argus'', (Tuesday, 6 November 1917), p.6.

Roll of Honour: Lance-Corporal John Thomas Cooper (4753), ''Australian War Memorial''.

External links

* *
AFL Player Statistics (Round by Round): Fitzroy Football Club 1907

Photograph of Alfred Crescent School, Fitzroy North, circa 1908

AFL Player Statistics (Round by Round): Fitzroy Football Club 1913

AFL Player Statistics (Round by Round): Fitzroy Football Club 1915
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jack 1889 births 1917 deaths Fitzroy Football Club players Fitzroy Football Club premiership players Mitchell Medal winners Participants in the 1916 Pioneer Exhibition Game Australian military personnel killed in World War I Australian Army soldiers Australian rules footballers from Melbourne VFL/AFL premiership players People from Fitzroy, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne 20th-century Australian sportsmen