Bill Madden (footballer)

William Charles Madden (18 November 1881 — 3 May 1917) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda. He was killed in action in France in 1917.

Bill Madden
Personal information
Full name William Charles Madden
Date of birth (1881-11-18)18 November 1881
Place of birth North Melbourne, Victoria
Date of death 3 May 1917(1917-05-03) (aged 35)
Place of death Bullecourt, France
Original team(s) West Melbourne
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1908–1909 St Kilda 26 (14)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1909.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of Daniel Madden (1839–1914), and Margaret Madden (1846–1919), née Cannon, William Charles Madden was born in Hotham, now known as North Melbourne, on 18 November 1881.

He was married in 1904; and he and his wife, Dorothea Harriett Madden (?–1942),[1] née Surguy, had two children, Priscilla Victoria Madden, and William Leonard Madden.[2][3]

Football

West Melbourne (VFA)

Having made his debut in the 7 June 1902 match against Brunswick,[4] he played in 84 games over six seasons (1902 to 1907) for the West Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), and kicked 4 goals.

St Kilda (VFL)

At 26 years of age, he was cleared to St Kilda, from West Melbourne on 29 April 1908.[5]

He played his first senior match, in the first round, against Carlton, at Princes Park on 2 May 1908. Of the three St Kilda debutants, Madden, Bismarck Kulpa, and Alby Landt, he was considered to be "the most promising" of all the new St Kilda players.[6] Although not a tall man,[7] he played as a backman, a forward, and a ruckman, with an equally high level of skill and performance during his senior VFL career.

In his first season at St Kilda (1908) he played in every senior match,[8] including the Semi-Final against Carlton, at the M.C.G. on 19 September 1908. Carlton thrashed St Kilda, by 58 points (12.12 (84) to 3.8 (26), Madden was selected as the forward pocket resting ruckman for St Kilda.[9] The match was played in extremely wet and muddy conditions, and the umpiring was of such a poor standard that St Kilda lodged a complaint.[10]

In his second season (1909) he only played seven matches, the last of which, against Melbourne at the Junction Oval on 24 July 1908 (round thirteen) was only possible because he was needed to replace an unavailable player.[11]

Footscray (VFA)

Cleared from St Kilda in April 1910 to the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA),[12] he played in 21 games over two seasons (1910 to 1911), and kicked 19 goals.

Cricket

He was also the wicket-keeper for the Brunswick Cricket Club.[13]

Military service

Prior to enlisting in the First AIF on 30 March 1916, he had been employed as a tinsmith.

Death

He died in France on 3 May 1917. He was last seen in a newly-dug trench with a wound to his right arm or shoulder.[14]

He was declared "missing in action" in May 1917; and his name appeared in the list of missing issued in June 1917.[15]

He was finally (officially) declared "Killed in Action" on 26 November 1917 after a Court of Inquiry had conducted an investigation into his case,[16] although the relevant casualty list was not published until February 1918.[17]

He has no known grave, and is commemorated at the Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial.[18]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Funeral Notices: Madden, The West Australian, (Monday, 30 March 1942), p.1.
  2. Service Record, p.21.
  3. William Leonard Madden (12228), Online Cenotaph: Auckland War Memorial.
  4. W. Melb. v. Brunswick, The Herald, (Saturday, 7 June 1902), p.4.
  5. Football: Permit Applications (W. Madden, West Melbourne to St. KiIda), The Argus, (Thursday, 30 April 1908), p.6.,
  6. Football: Carlton Unchanged: A Powerful Team, The Argus, (Monday 4 May 1908), p.8.
  7. He was measured at 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) on his enlistment with the AIF (Service Record, p.4).
  8. The St Kilda Football Team, The Leader, (Saturday, 30 May 1908), p.27: note that the caption (mistakenly) has "G. Madden" (Bill Madden is the only "Madden" to have ever played with St Kilda).
  9. Football: The Match of the Day, The Argus, (Saturday, 19 September 1908), p.17.
  10. Football in the Rain: St. Kilda Badly Beaten: Carlton Win in Five Minutes, The Argus, (Monday, 21 September 1908), p.4.
  11. Football: Melbourne's Rushing Win: Good Form by St. Kilda, The Argus, (Monday, 26 July 1909), p.5.
  12. Football, The Age, (Thursday, 21 April 1910), p.8.
  13. Deaths: On Active Service: Madden (inserted by "his comrades at the Brunswick Cricket Club"), The Age, (Saturday, 9 February 1918), p.7; Died on Service: Madden (inserted by "his comrades at the Brunswick Cricket Club"), The Argus, (Saturday, 9 February 1918), p.11; Cricket: Sub-District, The Argus, (Monday, 2 November 1914), p.6; Cricket: Sub-District: Brunswick v. Camberwell, The Argus, (Monday, 9 November 1914), p.5.
  14. "St Kilda players who died at war". bigfooty.com. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  15. Australian Casualties: List No. 310: Victoria: Missing (L.-Cpl. W. C. Madden, Brunswick), The Argus, (Thursday, 14 June 1917), p.5.
  16. Service Record, p.34.
  17. Australian Casualties: List No. (382): Victoria: Killed in Action (Madden, L.-Cpl. W. C., Brunswick, 3/5/17), The Argus, (Saturday, 9 February 1918), p.19 (Note: the newspaper, mistakenly has the list no.328 in its headline printed); Australia's Roll of Honor (sic): 382nd Casualty List: Victoria: Killed in Action (Madden, Lance-Corp. W. C., Brunswick), The Age, (Saturday, 9 February 1918), p.14.
  18. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

References
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