Sturt champion Percy Baulderstone’s WW1 sacrifice lives on in nephew and at popular footy ground

HE WAS an SANFL champion but his promising sporting career was cut short when left for a world a far cry from the battlefield of the football field.

WW1 100 stories in 100 Days - Percy Baulderstone

HE WAS an SANFL champion but Percy Baulderstone’s promising sporting career was cut short when he left for a world a far cry from the battlefield of the football field.

Baulderstone, or “Mick” as he was fondly known, was one of several footballers who played in Sturt’s first premiership side in 1914 to answer their country’s call and enlist to fight in World War I.

He and his mates flocked to Morphettville Raceourse and enlisted in the 12th Infantry Battalion on September 4, 1914. He was 25.

Great nephew Craig Baulderstone, of Hawthorndene, said helping with the war effort would have been more important to Baulderstone than a long football career.

“I think he was very quite proud to be a footy player, but at that time it was more about protecting your country and fighting for your people,” Mr Baulderstone said.

“In that time, if you were a young man of a certain age and you weren’t fighting over in the war, the community would’ve frowned upon you no matter how well-known or how good at sport you were.”

Born on October 17, 1889, Baulderstone was one of 10 siblings who grew up on Fullarton Rd.

The Prince Alfred College graduate was a key player for Sturt, which starts its 2015 season tonight against Norwood (April 2), after making his debut in the second semi-final in 1912.

He also played in an SA side against Victoria before enlisting.

As well as playing football, Baulderstone was a bricklayer in his family’s business – his father was head of the Master Builders Association in 1900 – before he left for war.

After enlistment, he was promoted to a lance corporal while training in Tasmania.

But, while training in Cairo, Baulderstone lost his ranking because according to Mr Baulderstone, the commanders realised they did not need that many leaders.

He was one of the first men to land at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, and was later promoted to a lance corporal again while fighting on the front line in June 1915.

“There was a lot of build up and a lot of training and a lot of frustration because they just wanted to get in there and fight,” Mr Baulderstone said.

“I’ve got a letter from when he was at Gallipoli about him talking about a sinking of a German battleship.

“They (the Australian ships) were all in this great formation of a large number of boats and one of the destroyers that were leading them sunk a German ship so there was a lot of excitement in that.

“A lot of the letters also talk about the constant stew they had to eat and the amount of training they had to do.”

Baulderstone was shot while attending to the wounded on the front line and died of gangrene on a hospital ship on July 2, 1915.

“I have a letter from his Commanding Officer stating that he was always volunteering and helping others and he was very popular within the Battalion and among the soldiers,” Mr Baulderstone said.

Baulderstone’s name is etched on a step at Unley Oval, along with the names of five other Sturt players who died during the war.

Mr Baulderstone named his son Mick in memory of his great uncle who sacrificed his life for his country.

“The only one who called him Percy was his mum,” Mr Baulderstone said.

“Everyone called him Mick, not sure why, and a of Percy’s letters sent to his family were signed Mick.

“So my wife and I named my eight-year-old son Mick, not Michael, just Mick after my great uncle.

“We thought that was a good way to remember and honour him.

“I think that Percy and the other soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice for all of us and we should remember them for that.”

THIS story is part of Messenger’s 100 Years, 100 Days, 100 Stories project, which will profile 100 South Australian World War I heroes as the nation builds up to the centenary of the Allied landing on Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. If you have the details and war record of a family member who served during World War I, let us know. Please go to your local Messenger’s Facebook page and send us the details.

Originally published as Sturt champion Percy Baulderstone’s WW1 sacrifice lives on in nephew and at popular footy ground