The Gordon District Cricket Club is seeking your assistance to secure needed income while at the same time substantially increasing the number of supporters and former players to become directly involved in our proud club. Below you will find a message from the President, Geoff Hickman seeking your help to enable our club to continue its great traditions and increase its important role as part of our community. Please read Geoff's message and big deep and become an Associate Member of the GDCC. Don't leave it to someone else, this is your chance to contribute.

President’s Message

Gordon DCC is a club with over 110 years of history, of proud achievements and has been the nursery of many legends of Australian cricket. Many of you have written your own page in this great history and we thank all former players, volunteers, officials and supporters for their contribution to, not only our proud cricket club, but the great game of cricket in Australia. We all want and expect our club to go for another 100 years and provide opportunities to the future legends of Australian cricket.

We would like to encourage former players and all supporters to continue their association with the club. Much has been documented in recent months about the struggle of grassroots cricket in Australia. The reality is our great club survives from year to year on the hard work of our volunteers and players and the financial support of our loyal sponsors. That with the financial contribution of our Annual Golf Day allows our club to remain financially solvent. With rising standards and expectations, the club needs to continually raise the bar on available resources. With that in mind we have embarked on an ambitious five-year plan in order to maintain our place in one of the world’s leading club competitions.

The fees that our players pay each season only cover approximately a third of the overall costs of running our club. We do not pay our players, we spend most of our money on providing quality coaching and the costs of playing each week (e.g. ball costs, ground hire etc).

As a past player or supporter of our club, we welcome your support and assistance. We seek more volunteers to assist in the running of our club, and to broaden the sources of income, to supplement our existing revenue streams.

In order to achieve this goal and to provide you with the opportunity to become more engaged with our club we are re-launching our associate membership packages, aptly known as the STAGS ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP. Each package will provide benefits to you as well as the opportunity to stay connected with our great club and continue to write our history in the great game of cricket in Australia. Further details of each package are included below.

STAGS ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

Stags Bronze Benefits

• Voting member of Gordon DCC

• Membership of TEAM APP, allowing you to stay in touch with the club (live scores, team selections, news & events)

• Club Cap

• Great Northern Loyalty Card 

• Invitation to annual STAGS membership day at Chatswood Oval to watch 1st grade (free drinks and food)

Stags Gold Benefits

• Stags Bronze and Gold benefits plus,

• Invitation to annual Sponsors Networking Dinner

• Invitation to Annual Golf Day & Dinner with 20% discount off ticket prices (maximum 2 guests)

It’s interesting to see that the teams who were able to bat around a century maker were all winners. Pretty thirties and forties don’t win games! 

1st Grade

Gordon won the toss and Axel Cahlin and Cameron Eccles got the side off to a solid start before Cam was out for 14. Tym Crawford then came to the crease and he and Axel shared an excellent partnership before Tym was out for a punishing 75. They had taken the score to 176 after 36 overs. Axel progressed to his third century of the season – a brilliant performance – before being dismissed for 102. Steve Colley contributed a forceful 38 (five sixes!) and Elliot Richtor also made a handy 26. After 50 overs, the score sat at 8-286. 

The Gordon bowlers started well and wickets fell consistently. After Penrith had collapsed to 6-90, one could be excused for thinking it was all over. However, on a very good batting deck at Chatswood, games are never over, and an excellent partnership ensued with Penrith moved to 199 and plenty of overs left. Finally, Tym Crawford got the breakthrough with a great delivery (ask him!). Elliot Richtor then cleaned up the last couple and Gordon had completed a terrific win over the competition leaders. Elliot finished with the best figures but all bowlers had their moments. 

Gordon 8-286 (Axel Cahlin 102, Tym Crawford 75, Steve Colley 38, Elliot Richtor 26) defeated Penrith 247 (Elliot Richtor 4-31, Tym Crawford 3-42). 

2nd Grade 

Gordon won the toss at Howell and immediately struck trouble, losing three wickets with only 22 on the board. Dom Thomson batted through the carnage and, with Glenn Winsor, resurrected the innings. They added 138 before Dom was out for a defiant 65. Glenn continued to hit the ball strongly and completed his first century for the club – an even 100 – before being run out. Josh Staines added 20 briskly and Nick Miller was at his aggressive best to take the score to 6-270 – a great recovery after a poor start. Nick finished on 56* and Matt Wright 9*. 

The Gordon bowlers started steadily and it wasn’t long before Ashok Premkumar struck. The spinners, Ryan Meppem and Matt Wright then got into the act and, at the half way point of the innings, Penrith were 4-78. Some small partnerships followed without being dominant. When Dan Stickland took a wicket, Penrith were 6-145 in the 38th and in trouble. Then, just to finish off a great performance, Glenn Winsor took the final four wickets in quick time to see the innings close at 189. A decisive win with a fantastic all round hand by Glenn. 

Gordon 6-270 (Glenn Winsor 100, Dom Thomson 65, Nick Miller 56*) defeated Penrith 189 (Glenn Winsor 4-44, Ryan Meppem 2-32, Matt Wright 2-38). 

3rd Grade

Gordon bowled first at Killara. Penrith got off to a solid start which was not helped by an injury to Sam Baker. Chris De Kretser struck twice and bowled well but the score moved on steadily. Charlie Booth took the next three wickets and Penrith were 5-176 with ten overs remaining. Unfortunately, the Gordon bowling struggled from this point and Penrith were able to push their way up to 262 at the end of the 50. 

Gordon started badly, losing three wickets with only 34 on the board. Max Papworth and Jack Plom shared a handy partnership but the latter was dismissed just as the game was getting back to an even contest. Another quick wicket and it was imperative that someone stay with max who was batting beautifully. Ollie Sutton played some big shots but the Penrith total was too far away and the innings closed at 186. A disappointing batting performance on a good wicket. The exception was Max, whose 81 was a very classy knock with many great shots. 

Gordon 186 (Max Papworth 81, Jack Plum 23, Ollie Sutton 22) lost to Penrith 8-262 (Charlie Booth 3-33, Chris DeKretser 2-34) 

4th Grade

Gordon won the toss and batted. The Penrith bowling was good and Gordon were 3-52 after 14 overs with Liam McElduff holding the fort for the Stags. He and Nick Andreou righted the ship with Nick moving on to 41 before being dismissed. Liam kept going and, with the assistance of Stuart Bromley, took the score to 4-197 with 5 overs to go. Liam was 91no and a score of around 220 was in the offing. The final 5 overs proved fruitful, with Liam moving to 103*, Stuart 53* and Gordon reached 4-237. A top effort and a fine reward for Liam, who has looked great this year without going on to a big one until today. 

The Gordon bowlers were very steady at the start. While wickets weren’t falling, the batsmen struggled to get the run rate going. At the first drinks break, the score was 2-42 from 19 overs. After another wicket, a solid partnership took the score to 111 before Lachie Burrows took a wicket. He then took another two and Penrith were 5-147 with only 13 overs remaining. At this point the bowling became a little ragged as the batsmen attacked. All of a sudden, they only needed 40 from the last 6 overs and were on top. Finally, Will Calov broke the partnership and, with three more wickets falling, 16 were needed from the final over. Will struck again and the Stags had won by 15. A very pleasing performance. 

Gordon 4-237 (Liam McElduff 103*, Stuart Bromley 53*, Nick Andreou 41) defeated Penrith 222 (Lachlan Burrows 3-31, Will Calov 3-36, Danusha Seneviratne 2-34). 

5th Grade

Gordon bowled first on a wicket that tended to keep a little low. Matt Keane picked up two early wickets before a solid partnership took Penrith to 2-57 off 22 overs. Wickets then started to fall with 

Dillon Amjad taking two and Shivraj Rana one. Then, after a few more overs, Prahlad Iyer began to go through the lower order and Penrith were all out for 93. 

Gordon started briskly and with Fraser Wilson and Naba Haider both batting well, it seemed the bonus point was on. However, Fraser was dismissed for a strong 39 and then a couple more wickets fell quickly and it was left to Steve Bristow to bring the Stags home. 

A comprehensive win with one of the highlights being the barbecue for both teams put on by Steve Bristow’s parents. Thank you very much, Mr and Mrs Bristow! 

Gordon 4-94 (Fraser Wilson 39, Steve Bristow 17*, Naba Haider 10*) defeated Penrith 93 (Prahlad Iyer 4-7, Matt Keane 2-10, Shivraj Rana 2-16, Dillon Amjad 2-18). 

Colts 

The Colts started a little late at Balmoral and batted first. The openers added 30 before Riley Behlevanas was run out for 15. From there, Nick Astridge and Jayden Gray took the score to 85 before Nick was also run out for 41. Another wicket fell before Jayden and Lachie Donaldson added 39 further runs. Lachie was dismissed but Jayden reached his 50 just as the score reached 150 from 43 overs. The last few overs saw Gordon move to 8-192 with Jayden compiling an excellent 69. 

Mosman started cautiously and good, tight bowling really applied the pressure. Callum Bladen struck twice to have them 2-11 and then Nathan Sequeira took one and Mosman were in strife at 3-25 after 15 overs. A careful partnership followed but the run rate was mounting, and eventually the pressure told. Wickets again started to fall and Mosman were bowled out for 129. Callum was the best of the bowlers, taking 4-24, but it was a really good team performance. 

Gordon 8-192 (Jayden Gray 69, Nick Astley 41) defeated Mosman 123 (Callum Bladen 4-24)

November 11, 2018 is the commemoration of 100 years since the end of World War I. Over the last 4 years, I have written many articles about the fifty-two Gordon cricketers who went to the war and in particular the seven who did not return.

The first arrivals including Alan Bruce

I have saved my final article about our fallen cricketers to be about the last player to die, Alan Bruce and the tragic circumstances that befell him during the war.

It is ironic that at the time of writing this article, Australian Cricket and the Australian Cricket team has been subject to a report that stated quote: "Players lack what might be called a 'worldly perspective' - and are perceived to be arrogant, entitled and self-centred,"

The Australian Captain, Tim Paine, on launching a new players pact, said that they were lucky to play this great game and they had got a bit wrapped up in their own self-importance.

Three Australian Test players who played for Gordon, Charlie Macartney, Charlie Kelleway and Johnnie Taylor fought in the war and fortunately returned to continue their cricket. I am sure they weren’t concerned about their self-importance. They weren’t playing a game. They stood beside their fellow diggers to defend their country against all odds.

Alan Bruce is remembered on the honour board of those who served in World War 1, but not a lot is known about his cricket except that he lived in Balfour Road Lindfield and played for the Colts before the outbreak of war. The family originally came from Cassilis near Merriwa in NSW.

Alan was a civil servant and was engaged to be married when he enlisted on the 24th August, 1914 only a few weeks after the declaration of war and arrived on the shores of Gallipoli on 25th April 1915 in the first wave of ships.  

Alan enlisted as a driver for the 1st Battalion, but as one would imagine there wasn’t a lot of driving required on the slopes of Gallipoli. 

On 11 May, 1914, a roll call was made at Hell Spit on Anzac Cove for Alan’s “D” company, which had gone into action with six officers and 213 diggers. The roll call could only identify one officer and 88 soldiers. 

A signaller, Ellis Silas, made the following observation:

The roll is called – how heartbreaking it is – name after name is called; the reply a deep silence which can be felt, despite the noise of the incessant cracking of rifles and screaming of shrapnel – there are few of us left to answer our names – just a thin line of weary faced men, behind a mass of silent forms, once our comrades. We have not even had time to bury them.

On 27 July, Alan, feeling the effects of the fighting and the lack of sanitation was sent to a hospital in Cairo for six weeks suffering from debility.  This would be the first of many visits to hospital for Alan over the period of the war. He returned to Gallipoli in early September. 

On 20 December 1915, the Australians including Gordon cricketers, Alan Bruce, Cliff Geddes, Dr. Clarence Read, Reg Black, Robert Prior, Harry Fry, Claude Tozer, and George Swan left the shores of Anzac Cove to regroup in Egypt and then continue the war in the Somme and Belgium.

In early April, 1916, the four Australian divisions in France were sent to the northern region of the Somme, near Armentières, to gain familiarity with some of the weapons of modern warfare, including the German use of gas designed to weaken the Allied forces. Alan was then transferred to the 1st Battalion base depot in Étaples where he remained until January 1917.

On 9 January, Alan was transferred to the 4th Division Ammunition Corp where the unit diary notes described the January conditions as raining; roads and standings very deep in mud. The severe conditions were enough to send Alan to hospital again with trench fever, which had affected him back in Gallipoli, for another nineteen days. 

After recovering, Alan was transferred to the 1st Division Field Artillery Brigade on 14 March, near Bapaume, and for some reason transferred again the next day to the 2nd Division Artillery Brigade also in the Bapaume area near Bullecourt. 

After fighting at Bullecourt, Alan received another transfer in June, this time to the 1st Division Artillery Trench Mortar Brigade. The brigade was positioned in Ouderbom, near Ypres, providing mortar fire for the 1st Division brigades engaged in and around Menin Road. This young Gordon cricketer who had enlisted as a driver for an ammunition column back in August 1914, had now seen action at Gallipoli, Armentières, Bapaume, Bullecourt and Menin Road, while being wounded twice along the way.  

The problem was that every transfer seemed to be to a unit on the frontline. It would come to the point when the record department at Rouen didn’t know where he was, his father certainly didn’t know and possibly Alan didn’t know either. As the war developed, this was not going to be good for his health.

As mentioned earlier, both the AIF Base Record Department and Alan Bruce’s father became confused as to the whereabouts of Alan as he was moved around the countryside to no apparent purpose. The letter shown above from his father in November 1917, and the response from the records department, indicate the confusion. It was becoming obvious that Alan was feeling the effects of his constant moving between units and the consequences were grim.

On 11 April, 1918, Alan and his brigade were marched to St Roch Station for a train ride to the Hazebrouck area. As Alan boarded that train at 2pm, his thoughts would have been looking ahead to what he might face in Hazebrouck. Only four hours later, the station was shelled by the Germans and a Gordon cricketer from Warrawee, Colin McCulloch was killed. There was no rhyme or reason why anyone survived this war while others didn’t. Soldiers just went where they were told, did what they were told and suffered the consequences. No complaints; they were fighting for their country.

Up on the Hazebrouck front line, Alan was wounded for the third time, receiving a gunshot wound to the right elbow. After treatment at a field hospital, he was transported to the Southwark Military Hospital in East Dulwich, England. 

Now into his fourth year of fighting, Alan’s spirit was at its lowest and he became very ill while in hospital and the medical staff decided to have Alan transported back to Sydney on the Hospital Transport Ship SS Medic which departed London on 14 September 1918. Alan’s family, including his fiancé, were advised of his pending return.

On the morning of the 15 September, the doctors were called urgently to Alan’s bedside as his temperature had reached 104 degrees. They were not able to revive him and he died. The cause of death was listed as tubercular abscess in the lung, toxaemia and heart failure. 

Alan was buried at sea.

The ships records on that day stated: quote; “In accordance with A.C.I 1808, para 3, no cablegrams or wireless messages have been sent”.

On October 14, 2018, the Daily Telegraph posted a notice that Alan Bruce had died at sea on September 15. Alan’s distraught father David, seeing the notice, wrote to the AIF and received the following reply: 

While Alan would never see his home again, nor his friends at his cricket club, his family did not even have the consolation of farewelling him with a funeral.  Before leaving for the war, Alan had written a Will which read: 

To my sisters, Majorie Alice Louise and Minna Clealand, £25 each as soon after my death as possible. To the NSW Patriotic Fund for distress caused by the Empire’s War £50.

Somehow, I don’t think £50 would have covered the distress caused by the Empire’s war!

 

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