Royal ANZAC's

East Perth has been affected by war in many ways.

From 1940 onwards there was an exodus of players from the ranks of football and East Perth provided its fair share – young men who enlisted for overseas or home service in the Army, Navy or Air Force.

The WAFL suspended league football from 1942-44, with an under-age competition taking the place of senior action.

The War meant that many young footballers were deprived of the best years of their life and, unfortunately, several paid the supreme sacrifice with their lives.

During 1995 the club’s Board of Directors agreed that the War years be included as part of a player's service, which meant some league footballers would qualify for Life Membership under the 10 years service clause. The year of 1995 was tagged as ‘Australia Remembers’ marking 50 years since the end of World War II.

Originally, there were six players who fitted into that category of having played in the early War years and here is a brief outline of their Life Membership nomination:

Dave McIntosh:
Starting with East Perth in 1940, McIntosh finished his career in 1949 with 56 games. His son John played with Claremont and St Kilda and grandson Ashley was an outstanding premiership player with the West Coast Eagles.

John McIntosh wrote to the club to say how pleased his father was to learn of his proposal for Life Membership before he passed away.

Sam Broom:
After playing with Boulder City, in the Goldfield's League, Broom joined East Perth in 1935 and finished the season with 18 games and a trophy for his all-round ability.
In 1936, he was in East Perth’s eighth premiership side and in 1939, he was selected in the State team to play Victoria twice, being in the second match when WA won.

He finished with 128 games before retiring in 1945.

Arch and Jim Campbell:
The brothers were born and bred in Parry Street, just a couple of drop kicks away from Perth Oval.

In earlier times the boys of Parry Street had formed a club to play football and cricket, calling themselves the "Parisians" and they were all members or players with East Perth.

They both started their football careers with the East Perth Metropolitan Juniors, with Arch playing three league games for the Royals in 1935 before finishing the season with the Mets, winning the premiership.

From 1936 onwards he became a regular league player, joining the Army in 1940 aged 24, but managing to play 14 games that season.

Arch attained the rank of Captain and was a member of the 2nd Independent Company which later became the 2/2 Commando Squadron, stationed on the island of Timor before being over-run by the Japanese. He spent 12 months in the mountains evading the Japanese until the company was evacuated by a Dutch destroyer to Darwin.

The Army years took their toll on Arch and he didn't resume playing football after the War, but served as a Director in 1985.

Jim Campbell was selected in a combined Metropolitan Juniors team in 1938 which played a Fremantle Ex-Scholars team and he became a regular league player in 1939. He joined the Army in 1942, originally stationed in a heavy artillery unit, but he volunteered to join the Americans after they had captured Okinawa and was seconded to POW Recovery when the War finished.

He returned to East Perth and finished his playing career in 1948, with 65 games before taking up umpiring until 1954, with his highlight being the 1952 grand final.
Jim was appointed as coach of the league umpires from 1958-64 and later sat on the Protests and Disputes Tribunal.

Jack Sweet:
One of many players to start his football with the Maylands Metropolitan Juniors, Sweet moved to Bunbury in his employment and played with the Pastimes Club, now known as Carey Park.

The country was then unalloted territory and in 1938 he was invited to try out with East Perth, playing two games before returning to Bunbury. He joined the Royals the next year and was voted the best first year player.

Sweet joined the Army in October, 1940 and played a few games in 1941 before Army service took over. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant and finished his service with the 2/11 Commando Squadron.

On returning to play football in 1946, he was appointed league captain for 1946-47-48 and was in the WA team that competed in the Australian Carnival in Hobart. He was in the WA side than downed Victoria by four points, 16.10 (106) to 15.12 (102) – the first time WA had beaten Victoria outside the State.

WA suffered an unexpected loss against South Australia and subsequently lost the first carnival to be decided on percentages. Sweet played in all of the five games during the Carnival.

Half-way through the 1948 season, East Perth replaced coach Val Sparrow, giving Sweet the job of captain-coach.

In 1949 the club appointed Seff Parry as coach, which was a major disappointment for Sweet, who gave away football and took up radio broadcasting, only to be enticed back to play the last 12 games and in 1950, he accepted the coaching position at Subiaco.

Brothers Roy and Eric are Life Members of the club and the addition of Jack creates the unique situation of three brothers all holding that club honour.

Gus Glendinning:
After starting a football career at the Armadale Primary School, Glendinning went on to the Perth Boys High School until 1939, while he was also playing with Armadale in the old South Suburban Association.

In 1941 he attracted the attention of East Perth and played the last two games of that season before joining the Air Force the next year.

Glendinning served as a pilot in an English squadron and during his War years he played mostly soccer, with the occasional kick of a rugby ball along with Keith Miller, the champion footballer and cricketer who was one of four Australians in the squadron.

Glendinning resumed with East Perth in 1946, playing 70 games until 1951, when he turned his attention to league umpiring for several years. In 1960, he joined the club's Management Committee for three years and did a further stint in 1976-77 and for many years was a club sponsor through Embassy Caterers.

George Fogarty
Fogarty was a Loyal Royal who played before World War II and then served the club on his return from active service.

He notched 88 league games between 1933 and ’40 before joining the Air Force, graduating as a pilot officer. He saw services in the Middle East as captain of a Wellington bomber based in Cairo.

Fogarty survived a terrible accident that left him with back and abdominal injuries and was transported home to Perth in a hospital ship, encased in plaster from under his arms to his lower trunk.

After the War a fully-recovered Fogarty renewed his East Perth affiliation,  serving on the committee and as vice-president to Fred Book and also as a WAFL delegate.  He became a State selector and travelled to the Eastern States with WA teams.

Fogarty passed away in 1984, aged 71.

Remebering those who didn’t return …

Alfred Charles Mussman
Games played: 103 (1935-40)
Premierships: 1936
After being a member of the 1936 premiership team under Jerry Dolan, Alf Mussman enlisted in the AIF in 1940 and served overseas with the 2/4th Machinegun Regiment. He was killed in action in Singapore on February 12, 1942, with another East Perth player in William Leonard Innes dying on the same day.

Mussman’s last game was the first semi-final of 1940 when East Fremantle beat East Perth and the Football Budget of the next week had this to say: “Alf Mussman was just about the pick of the losing team. He gave a solid aid to the defence and when not placed in that division, continued his useful play. It was difficult to fault his effort in any way.”

Austen Gardiner
With 37 games and 118 goals, Austen Gardiner was looming as an outstanding young footballer after graduating from the local Metropolitan Juniors side. However, he lost his life while serving with the RAAF.