James Duncan Gordon (1 January 1896 – 30 September 1918) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played with

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL).

Family

The son of James Duncan, and Blanche Eleanor Duncan, née De Wart, née Edwards, James Duncan Gordon was born in

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay Local government areas of Victoria, ...

on 1 January 1896.

Football

Recruited from Elsternwick, Gordon was a rover and half-forward who made his debut for Essendon, at the age of 18 years, against University on 9 August 1913; and, in that match, Gordon kicked the winning goal after the final bell. Shockingly, as of 2024, Essendon has never won a game with a goal after the siren since.

Military service

He served as a bombardier in the army during World War I and was killed in action, in France, on 30 September 1918. His step-brother, Ewen James Gordon (1891–1916), who also served in the First AIF, was also killed in action (on 18 August 1916).Roll of Honour: Private Ewen James Gordon (2654), ''Australian War Memorial''.
/ref>

Footnotes

References

A Young Athlete, ''Table Talk'', (Thursday, 11 January 1912), p.6.

First World War Nominal Roll: Bombardier James Duncan Gordon (4016), ''Australian War Memorial''.

First World War Embarkation Roll: Bombardier James Duncan Gordon (4016), ''Australian War Memorial''.

Roll of Honour: Bombardier James Duncan Gordon (4016), ''Australian War Memorial''.
* Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.

External links