George Brock (footballer)

Recruited from the Exeter Football Club in the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), he played one senior game for Port Adelaide in 1937.[5]

He returned to Exeter for the 1938 season, winning selection in the SAAFL's State team for the Australian Amateur Football Carnival in Launceston.[6] In the match against New South Wales, Brock was the best on ground.[7]

He returned to Port Adelaide and played for them in the 1939 and 1940 seasons.[8]

He sustained serious head injuries in a car crash, in Adelaide, on Saturday night, 26 September 1940 (the evening of the S.A. Grand Final between Sturt and South Adelaide)[9] — which explains the remarks made about Brock's first appearance for North Melbourne, against Hawthorn, on 5 July 1941: "Recently injured, [Brock] played with one side of his head plastered",[10] and "[Brock] was playing at a disadvantage through a recent head injury".[11]

Following his enlistment in the RAAF on 6 January 1941, and his subsequent relocation to the RAAF Flying Training School in Victoria,[12][13] Brock was granted a permit to play with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) on Saturday morning, 5 July 1941.[14] He played in his first match for North Melbourne that afternoon; and then played on each of the next three Saturdays (i.e., 4 senior games in all).[15][16][17][18]

At the coroner's inquest, conducted by Mr Tingate, P.M. on 19 August 1941, evidence was given that the conditions on the day were far from satisfactory -- very gusty and, as a consequence, there were many air pockets -- and that Brock was a passenger in one of three aircraft flying in a V formation.

At one stage of the training exercise, the trainee pilot (Maurice McGuire 401137)[24] of Brock's aircraft "signalled to the other pilots to change positions in the V formation, and the plane on the left of the V dropped underneath to take up a new position". Brock's plane hit an air pocket, the pilot (McGuire) "felt a bump, and his plane dropped on to the one beneath" — "[McGuire's] controls failed to respond, and the machine spun down out of control".[25]

The trainee pilot of the other aircraft (Colin Fallon 407785)[26] lost control of his craft immediately the planes collided; and both he and his passenger, John Distin Hill (407792),[27] successfully bailed out.[28] However, despite being instructed to bail out by the pilot McGuire (who successfully escaped the aircraft) his passenger Brock did not jump -- McGuire stated that "Brock must have felt the crash and known what happened, but still did not jump".[29]

The coroner's finding was one of accidental death.[30]

His funeral was held on Monday, 4 August 1941, at the Springvale Crematorium. His remains were cremated.

"NORTH MELBOURNE — The team will wear black armbands [in their match against Carlton tomorrow] as a mark of respect to the memory of Leading Aircraftsman H.G. Brock, who was killed in an air accident last Saturday." -- The Age, 8 August 1941.[31]

"North and Carlton players stood in silence before the match for George Brock, ex-North player and South Australian airman, who was killed in an air collision last Saturday." -- The Sporting Globe, 9 August 1941.[32]

"In a brief and dignified ceremony before the [Grand Final between Norwood and Sturt on 4 October 1941], the big crowd stood in silence for a minute to honor [the eight] League players who have died on active service in the present war, The chairman of the League (Major E. Millhouse)[33] told spectators that … they were L.K. Rudd (Port Adelaide),[34] D. Waite (West Torrens),[35] D.L. Carlos (Glenelg),[36] H.G. Brock (Port Adelaide),[37] A. Exley (Glenelg),[38] H.R. Farrant (North Adelaide),[39] L. Leahy (Norwood),[40] and J. Wade (Port Adelaide).[41]" -- The Chronicle, 9 October 1941.[42]