Bert Officer

Albert Edward "Bert" Officer (15 November 1899 – 21 December 1957)[1] was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda and Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[2]

Bert Officer
Pickford in May 1925
Personal information
Full name Albert Edward Officer
Date of birth (1899-11-15)15 November 1899
Place of birth St Kilda, Victoria
Date of death 21 December 1957(1957-12-21) (aged 58)
Place of death Fremantle, Western Australia
Original team(s) Grosvenor
Debut Round 8, 1922, St Kilda
vs. Geelong, at Corio Oval
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1922–24 St Kilda 06 (10)
1925 Hawthorn 12 0(6)
Total 18 (16)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1925.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Officer was born Albert Edward Wood, the son of Minnie Wood, and he grew up in the St Kilda area. He enlisted soon after turning 18 and served in Europe during the final months of World War I.[3]

After returning to Australia, Officer played football with Grosvenor before transferring to St Kilda for the 1922 VFL season.[4] He struggled to gain a place in the St Kilda side, playing only six games over his three seasons at the club.

Officer transferred to Hawthorn during the 1924 season[5] and played 12 games in their first VFL season in 1925. He failed to play a senior game after that but was the leading goal-kicker for Hawthorn's reserve team in 1926. Officer transferred to Oakleigh in 1929 when they were admitted to Victorian Football Association.[6]

Bert Officer married Elizabeth Mary McCormick at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne in November 1931.[7] The wedding was delayed twice, as they could not afford the costs as he had to have two operations to have shrapnel removed from his legs received during World War I. They had three children together and Bert Officer worked for the Commonwealth Investigation Service in Melbourne, Hobart and Perth until he died suddenly from a heart attack in December 1957.

References
  1. "Bert Officer – Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921496-32-5.
  3. "Albert Edward Officer – Discovering Anzacs". National Archives of Australia. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  4. "FOOTBALL". The Argus. Melbourne. 17 April 1922. p. 7 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "FOOTBALL". The Argus. Melbourne. 19 June 1924. p. 4 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "FOOTBALL". The Argus. Melbourne. 19 April 1929. p. 10 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Family Notices". Table Talk. Melbourne. 24 December 1931. p. 37 – via National Library of Australia.


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