John Montague Drake (15 March 1904 – 23 April 1941) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League.[1]
| Jack Drake | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | John Montague Drake | ||
| Date of birth | 15 March 1904 | ||
| Place of birth | Perth, Western Australia | ||
| Date of death | 23 April 1941 (aged 37) | ||
| Place of death | Bralos Pass, Thermopylae, Greece | ||
| Original team(s) | Old Xaverians | ||
| Position(s) | Centre half back | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1926 | Hawthorn | 3 (1) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1926. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
editThe son of Frederick David Drake (1857–1941) and Mary Elizabeth Drake, née Falvey (1868–1956), John Montague Drake was born in Perth on 15 March 1904. The Drake family moved to Melbourne before he reached school age and Jack Drake was educated at Xavier College.
Football
editDrake joined Hawthorn during the 1926 VFL season and scored a goal on debut against Fitzroy, but was also injured[2] and missed the next six weeks. He played two more games at the end of the season but failed to make the senior squad for the 1927 season.[3]
World War II
editJack Drake enlisted to serve in the Australian Army during World War II in December 1939.[4] After completing training at Seymour he was deployed to Palestine and then Greece, his division providing support for Allied troops as the German forces swept through Greece in April 1941.
Drake was killed on 23 April 1941, aged 37, while defending a bridge at the Bralos Pass, Thermopylae, Greece against German artillery. A Lance Bombardier serving on a field gun position, both of his legs were amputated below the knee by a shell blast, fatally wounding Drake. The same blast killed and wounded several other gunners.[5][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (8th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
- ^ "SURPRISE FOR FITZROY". The Argus. Melbourne. 8 June 1926. p. 16.
- ^ "FOOTBALL". The Argus. Melbourne. 25 April 1927. p. 7.
- ^ "DRAKE, John Montague". Department of Veterans Affairs.
- ^ "Roll of Honour:John Montague Drake". Australian War Memorial.
- ^ "Lest we forget". hawthornfc.com.au. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
External links
edit- Jack Drake's playing statistics from AFL Tables
 | This Australian rules football biography of a person born in 1904 is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |