Derek_Mollison
Derek Mollison
Australian rules footballer
Crawford Derek Mollison (22 October 1901 – 19 December 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1] He died while serving in the Second Australian Imperial Force when an aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed at Canal Creek, near Yaamba, Queensland.
| Derek Mollison | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Crawford Derek Mollison | ||
| Date of birth | (1901-10-22)22 October 1901 | ||
| Place of birth | South Yarra, Victoria | ||
| Date of death | 19 December 1943(1943-12-19) (aged 42) | ||
| Place of death | Yaamba, Central Queensland | ||
| Original team(s) | Old Melburnians (MAFA) | ||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 81 kg (179 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1923–1928 | Melbourne | 66 (30) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1924–1925 | Victoria | 4 (-) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1928. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 1925. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
The son of Crawford Henry Mollison (1863–1949), the Victorian Government Pathologist,[2][3][4] and his second wife, Elizabeth Corientia Mollison (1869–1920), née Browne, daughter of Thomas Alexander Browne a.k.a. Rolf Boldrewood,[5][6] Crawford Derek Mollison was born, in South Yarra, on 22 October 1901.[7][8]
He married Muriel Wallis Ludbrook on 2 July 1924;[9][10] they had two children, Barbara (1925-),[11][12] and Graeme (1929-).[13][14][15]
His wife's brother, Campbell Malcolm Ludbrook, died (on 11 February 1922) as a result of the severe head injuries he sustained when an aeroplane in which he was a passenger crashed near Mildura;[16] the pilot, a friend of Ludbrook's, did not have a pilot's license, and the aeroplane had been denied a certificate of airworthiness by the Department of Civil Aviation.[17][18]
Crawford Derek Mollison died in an aircraft crash in Queensland while serving with the Second AIF on 19 December 1943.[19]
Educated at Melbourne Grammar School, he was an excellent schoolboy cricketer,[20] and footballer.[21]
On leaving school, he played football for Old Melburnians Football Club in the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association.[22]
A Victorian representative, he retired at a young age to pursue a business career.
He enlisted in the Second AIF, and served in both the Middle East and in New Guinea.
On 19 December 1943, Mollison was one of 31 people on board when a C-47 Dakota aircraft of the 22nd Transport Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group crashed at Canal Creek, near Yaamba, Queensland, north of Rockhampton in Central Queensland. The plane, which was flying from Townsville to Brisbane, was carrying 20 US Armed Services personnel, two non-combatants, as well as Mollison and seven other members of the Australian Defence force.[23][24]
It was the second-worst air disaster in Australian history;[25] there were no survivors.[24]
- Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
- By family tradition, Crawford was the first given name of the eldest son: Changed Name: For Tradition, The (Melbourne) Herald, Wednesday, 22 June 1949), p.1 – Cecily Elizabeth Mollison, who became Cecily Elizabeth Mollison, Derek's half-sister, was the daughter of his father's third wife, Grace Elizabeth Mollison, née Thomas.
- "A site to remember: Canal Creek air disaster". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- Sharland, W.S., "Shelton, Mollison, and O’Connell are League Players Attracting Attention", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 21 June 1924), p.8.
- Southerner, "The Story of Great Public Schools: Melbourne Grammar: Sporting Record of Famous Melburnians", The Referee, (Wednesday, 21 January 1931), p.13.
- Australian Military Forces; Attestation Form for Persons Voluntarily Enlisted in the Militia Forces: Crawford Derek Mollison (336015), National Archives of Australia: note that, on enlistment (24 February 1939), Mollison stated that his date of birth was 22 October 1901.
- World War Two Service Record: Captain Crawford Derek Mollison (VX912), National Archives of Australia: note that, on enlistment (4 November 1939), Mollison stated that his date of birth was 22 November 1904.
- Captain Crawford Derek Mollison (VX912), Photograph in the Collection of the Australian War Memorial.
- Roll of Honour: Captain Crawford Derek Mollison (VX912), Australian War Memorial.
- Victorians in Army Casualty Lists: Australia and The Islands: Killed Accidentally, The Argus, (Friday, 14 January 1944), p.4.
- Derek Mollison's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Derek Mollison at AustralianFootball.com
- Demonwiki: Derek Mollison.
- Boyles Football Photos: Derek Mollison.