| Gordon Sawley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Gordon Harold Sawley | ||
| Nickname(s) | Gertie | ||
| Date of birth | (1913-06-28)28 June 1913 | ||
| Place of birth | Norwood, South Australia | ||
| Date of death | 14 August 1942(1942-08-14) (aged 29) | ||
| Place of death | North Sea, offFindhorn, Scotland | ||
| Original team(s) | Norwood | ||
| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Weight | 73.5 kg (162 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1941 | South Melbourne | 7 (8) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1941. | |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Gordon Harold "Gertie" Sawley (28 June 1913 – 14 August 1942) was anAustralian rules footballer who played withSouth Melbourne in theVictorian Football League (VFL).
The son of Andrew Gilbert Sawley (1883–1964), and Florence Maud Sawley (1883–1964), née Baldock, Gordon Harold Sawley was born atNorwood, South Australia on 28 June 1913.
His older brother, Frank Sawley, played 26 games withNorwood (1931–1934).[1]
Frank's son, Brian Sawley, played 138 games with Norwood. Brian Sawley is also remembered for being knocked unconscious by Victorian ruckmanJohn Peck in the third quarter of the interstate match between Victoria and South Australia in Adelaide om 7 July 1963. Peck was found guilty of the offence by the South Australian Tribunal, which left the penalty to be determined by the VFL[2] – displaying controversial leniency, the VFL only suspended Peck for two weeks.[3][4][5]
His younger brother,Albert Sawley, played 110 games for Norwood and 11 games forSt Kilda.
He played 53 games for Norwood (1937–1941).
He joined the VFL side South Melbourne while onRAAF duties, and played in 7 games in the 1941 season.[6][7]
He was killed during theSecond World War in a training accident whilst serving in theRoyal Air Force.[8][9][10] On 14 August 1942, Sawley, piloting anArmstrong Whitworth Whitley, took off fromRAF Kinloss on a nighttime cross-country training exercise that would be followed by a bombing practice exercise. After the cross-country exercise operation finished, the Whitley headed back to RAF Kinloss and informed the base by radio that they would proceed on the bombing exercise.
The aircraft was seen overForres, and proceeded to turn north and then east. The plane then went down from 2,000 feet (0.61 km) in altitude to 1,000 feet (0.30 km) in altitude and disappeared from sight. Soon after, Sawley's plane crashed into theNorth Sea offFindhorn, Scotland, killing theflying officer and the 4 other crew on board. Search parties were dispatched, but only found wreckage. None of the crew's bodies have been found.[11][12][13]
He has no known grave, and is commemorated at theAir Forces Memorial at Runnymede.[14]
