Hector Mitchell (footballer)
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Warrnambool, Victoria
Singapore
| Hector Mitchell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Hector Matheson Mitchell | ||
| Born |
19 August 1887 Warrnambool, Victoria | ||
| Died |
16 June 1917 (aged 29) Singapore | ||
| Original team | Warrnambool | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1908 | St Kilda | 1 (0) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1908. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Stoker Hector Matheson Mitchell (19 August 1887 – 16 June 1917) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1]
Mitchell, the second son of Andrew and Grace Mitchell, was born in Warrnambool.[2]
He was with St Kilda during the 1908 VFL season and played one senior game, in round 16, as one of three debutants in a 19-point loss to Collingwood at Victoria Park.[3][4]
His football career was put on hold aged 21 when he enlisted in the Royal Navy, on 4 November 1908.[5] Mitchell, a stoker, was a member of the crew on board HMS Psyche initially, then went to England on HMS Challenger.[6] In England he was posted to HMAS Melbourne, the first cruiser launched for the Royal Australian Navy.[7]
Once he returned to Australia, with his five-year term of service completed, Mitchell went to work at the Newport Workshops, where he remained for two years.[6] Around this time he played football for Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).[7]
Mitchell re-enlisted in August 1916 and served on HMAS Cerberus, before he was transferred to HMAS Swan.[6]
On board HMAS Swan, which was in operation with British blockade forces in the Far East, Mitchell began suffering from an illness, described in one source as "brain fever".[7][8] He was sent to a hospital in Singapore, where he died from the illness on 16 June 1917, aged 29.[7][9] Buried with full naval honors, he now rests at Singapore's Kranji War Cemetery.[9][10]