Bill Cosgrove

William Nicholas Pax Cosgrove (11 November 1918 – 11 August 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He served in the RAAF during World War II, and was killed in action in 1943 when his plane crashed.

For other people with similar names, see William Cosgrove (disambiguation).
Bill Cosgrove
Personal information
Full name William Nicholas Pax Cosgrove
Date of birth (1918-11-11)11 November 1918
Place of birth Randwick, New South Wales
Date of death 11 August 1943(1943-08-11) (aged 24)
Place of death Solomon Sea, off Goodenough Island, Milne Bay, Territory of New Guinea
Original team(s) Xavier College
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1940 Richmond 3 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1940.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of John Nereus Cosgrove (1867-1925), and Madelaine Mary Stephanie Cosgrove (1884-1933), née Tracey, William Nicholas Pax Cosgrove was born on 11 November 1918, Armistice Day—he was named "Pax" (Latin for peace) in recognition of that fact.[1] He married Dorothy May McLean (1920-) in 1940.[2]

Cosgrove's nephew, Peter Cosgrove, became Chief of the Defence Force and Governor-General of Australia.[3]

Football

He was a "talented and courageous" centre half-back, recruited by Richmond in 1939,[4] who played in three senior games for Richmond in 1940,[5] and played in 34 games for Richmond's Second XVIII over the period 1939–1942.

Showing his loyalty to his VFL team, he decorated his RAAF planes with the Richmond logo and the slogan "Eat 'em alive".[6]

Richmond's award for its best first year player is now known as the Bill Cosgrove/Harry Jenkins Trophy, in honour of both Cosgrove and the Tasmanian-based Richmond talent scout Harry Jenkins.

Military service

He was killed in action on 11 August 1943. While flying between Vivigani and Bola in the Territory of New Guinea, Flight Sergeant Cosgrove's plane crashed into the Solomon Sea off Goodenough Island, killing him and Flight Sergeant Bernard Le Griffon.[7][8]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Service Casualties, The Argus, (Wednesday, 18 August 1943), p.7.
  2. New Tiger Married, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 26 April 1940), p.15.
  3. Governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove’s mischievous ‘uncle Bill’ a beloved World War II hero.
  4. Hogan (1996), p.47.
  5. Early cut in League pay forecast, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Wednesday, 29 May 1940), p.22.
  6. Jones, A., "'It seems so silly when they brawl'", The Sporting Globe, Saturday, 15 May 1943), p3.
  7. Deaths: On Active Service: Cosgrove, The Age, (Saturday, 21 August 1943), p.8.; Deaths: On Active Service: Cosgrove, The Argus, (Saturday, 21 August 1943), p.2.
  8. "A19-74". rafcommands.com. Retrieved 14 February 2020.

References
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.