Percy Rowett White (1887–1918) was an Australian pioneer

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 ...

player. He 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 ...

competition at the time of the code's Australian foundation in 1908, and won a premiership with

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

's Eastern Suburbs club in 1912. He later served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was killed by artillery fire in France in 1918.

Rugby League career

Born in the inner-city Sydney suburb of

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, White played 89 matches for the Eastern Suburbs club between 1908 and 1916. He played as a

prop forward A rugby league team consists of 13 players on the field, with 4 interchange players on the bench. Each of the 13 players is assigned a position, normally with a standardised number, which reflects their role in attack and defence, although playe ...

in East's 14–12 loss to South Sydney in rugby league's first premiership decider in season 1908. He was a squad member of the Easts sides who won premierships in

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

and

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

, as well as the City Cup-winning sides of 1914, 1915 and 1916. White is recognised as Eastern Suburbs' 23rd player; his teammate Eddie White was his brother, while his father, John White, was one of the club's earliest presidents.

War service and death

White was one of many Australians to serve on the Western Front during the World War I. He was a driver with the 29th Company Australian Army Service Corps, whose base was in the Belgian town of Loker. He was aged 30 when he was hit by an artillery shell at an unknown location in 1918. He died of his wounds on 24 April 1918 at

Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux borde ...

in northern France. The following article appeared in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' under the heading of "War Casualties" on 8 May 1918: White is buried at Daours Communal Cemetery Extension in France. His name is commemorated on panel 181 in the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

.Commemoration detail
Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 27 July 2013.

References

Bibliography

* * Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen (2006). ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players''. Sydney: Gavin Allen Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Percy 1887 births 1918 deaths Australian military personnel killed in World War I Australian rugby league players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props Sydney Roosters players 20th-century Australian sportsmen