Harold Corbett

Harold William Corbett (1890 – 3 May 1917) was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer and soldier who served in World War I and died on the Western Front.

For those of a similar name, see Harry Corbett (disambiguation).

Harold Corbett
Personal information
Full nameHarold William Corbett
Born1890
Waterloo, New South Wales
Died3 May 1917 (aged 26-27)
Bullecourt, France
Playing information
PositionHalfback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1911–12 Eastern Suburbs 5 0 0 0 0
1913 Annandale 3 0 0 0
Total 8 0 0 0 0

Rugby League

Brought up in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs Corbett attended Waverley Public School. He played for the Eastern Suburbs and Annandale clubs of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. Corbett was in the Easts' squad during their first and second premiership years of 1911 and 1912. He was the 56th player to play first-grade for Eastern Suburbs.

His father William Francis Corbett (1857–1923) and brother Claude Corbett were both well-known Sydney sporting journalists.[1]

War service

Harold also gave his occupation as "Journalist" when he enlisted in the first AIF in 1915. He embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A21 Marere in August 1915 as a Sergeant in the 19th Battalion of the 5th Brigade (New South Wales).[2] The 19th Battalion had been raised in 1915 and was first sent to Gallipoli where it fought against the Turks, before being withdrawn from the peninsula and being sent to France in early 1916, where it served in the trenches along the Western Front as part of the Australian Corps.

In 1917, the 19th Battalion was involved in the attack on German forces after their retreat to the Hindenburg Line. Corbett was killed in action on 3 May 1917 being the first day of battle of Second Bullecourt.[3] He has no known grave but is commemorated at the Commonwealth Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux.

Roll of honour, Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux cemetery
View from the top of the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux cemetery where Corbett and 770 other Australian fallen are honoured

Bibliography
  • Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney

Online sources

Footnotes
  1. Cuneen, Chris (1981). "Corbett, Claude Gordon (1885 - 1944) Biographical Entry". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8. Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  2. "H Corbett war record". Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  3. Middleton, David (24 April 2010). "Footy stars taken on battlefield". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
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