Arthur Lewis Carnell (24 May 1909 – 31 August 1942) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

for

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

. He died during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life and rugby career

Carnell was born on 24 May 1909 in

Dungog Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter region and a small part of the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire Local Go ...

to parents Arthur Lewis and Regina Hessing Carnell. At the age of twenty-one in 1930, Carnell appeared 9 times for North Sydney as a fullback.

Personal life and military career

Carnell was married and worked as a soft goods salesman. He enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

on 28 March 1940, and was posted to the 2/12th Infantry Battalion on 27 April. Whilst serving with the battalion in November 1940, Carnell was subject to a general

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

for being found outside his barracks without a leave pass, "disobeying a lawful command given by his superior officer", and "offering violence to his superior officer", for which he was found guilty on all counts and given detention for thirty days. He and his battalion participated in the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, and Carnell served during the

Siege of Tobruk The siege of Tobruk () took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the World War II, Second World War. An Allies of World War II, Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Division ...

in 1941, during which he was promoted to

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

. The battalion was then given a rest period, during which Carnell was admitted to hospital and had his rank demoted to private upon his own request. The battalion was sent to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

in August 1942, and Carnell saw combat during the

Battle of Milne Bay The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942), also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese naval infantry, known as ''Kaigun ...

, in which he was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

on 31 August 1942. Carnell was buried at

Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery Port Moresby (Bomana) Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery dating from World War II near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The cemetery contains the graves of those who died in the fighting in the former Territory of Papua and ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnell, Artie 1909 births 1942 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel killed in World War II Australian rugby league players Australian salespeople Burials at Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery North Sydney Bears players People from the Hunter Region People who were court-martialed Prisoners and detainees of the Commonwealth of Australia Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from New South Wales 20th-century Australian sportsmen