THE GILTINAN FAMILY

THE GILTINAN FAMILY

The surname ‘Giltinan’ is most easily recognised as the name of the shield presented to the Minor Premiers of the NRL Competition.

From 1951 until 1996, the handsome JJ Giltinan Shield was won by the 1st Grade team that won the Grand Final.

Since 1997, the Shield has been awarded to the NRL 1st Grade side that wins the Minor Premiership.

In 2022, that side was the Penrith Panthers and the Shield was presented on 26 August after the Minor Premiership was concluded. Penrith also won the Grand Final on 2 October when they were presented with the ‘Provan-Summons Trophy.’

But who was JJ Giltinan?

James Joseph Giltinan (1866-1950) was the eldest of five sons.

On the night of 8 August 1907, at Bateman’s Hotel in George Street Sydney, JJ Giltinan was elected Secretary of the newly formed NSWRFL which had broken away from Rugby Football in NSW. Victor Trumper was elected Treasurer.

Giltinan then invited the New Zealand ‘All Golds’ Rugby League team to tour Australia on their way to Great Britain in 1907. Then, after the first Rugby League premiership season in 1908, Giltinan led the first ‘Kangaroos’ Rugby League tour of Great Britain.

He was Honorary Secretary of the NSWRFL from 1909 until just before his death in 1950. The ‘JJ Giltinan Shield’ was instituted in 1951 in memory of one of the founders of the game.

Just a month or so after the first Rugby League season had concluded with South Sydney as Premiers, the 1908-09 Sydney Grade Cricket season began. Playing for Sydney University’s 2nd Grade side was Richard Giltinan (1881-1948), JJ’s youngest brother who was studying Arts at Sydney University as an evening student, preparatory to taking up a position as a secondary school teacher. He had previously played three seasons for Leichhardt and had batted steadily in 3rd Grade before promotion to 2nd Grade. His last innings of significance was his 46 against University in 2nd Grade in 1907-08.

For his new club, he scored 14 in his first game against Balmain but that was to be easily his highest score for the Club in 2nd Grade. Two more games produced 5,0, and 2. His bowling was used sparingly and he took no wickets. Inevitably, he was dropped to 3rd Grade where he made some moderate scores before reclaiming his 2nd Grade spot for a late-season game against Paddington. He failed to score in both innings.

He had played his last game for SUCC.

He was appointed to schools in Lismore and Grafton before becoming Headmaster of Wagga High School from 1926 until 1936. He died in Wagga in 1948.

Before that, JJ Giltinan appears to have played a few 3rd grade games for Burwood in 1908-09.

He may not have been much of a cricketer but he was a 1st class umpire.

In the 1903-04 season, the MCC side under Pelham Warner, was touring Australia. When they played NSW at the SCG from 12th to 15th February 1904, the appointed umpires were William Gregory Curran and James Joseph Giltinan. Curran was significantly experienced and he was to umpire two Tests some seasons later. Giltinan, however, was umpiring his first 1st class game. And his last.

The NSWCA attempted to appoint JJ Giltinan to umpire the 4th Test starting in Sydney on 26 February. There was an uproar. England’s RE Foster kept a tour diary which contained some strident opinions. On 23 February, he thundered:

           Dispute over umpire for the Test. NSWCA appointed Giltinan. Quite the worst umpire we have met. Deadlock…We shan’t play unless they give way.

AE Knight sent regular reports on the tour to the Sheffield Daily Telegraph. His opinion on the appointment was relatively subdued:

         On our return from Bathurst, we found the cricket atmosphere much disturbed by the umpire difficulty…Noble [the Australian captain] and Warner both agreed that Crockett and Argall were the two most satisfactory umpires for the Test Match but the NSWCA appointed one to whom Mr Warner strongly objected on the grounds of inexperience and lack of the necessary ability.

In the event, the NSWCA backed down. The Test went ahead as scheduled. Philip Argall and Bob Crockett were the appointed umpires.  Giltinan umpired no more at this level.

JJ Giltinan had his administration of Rugby League from the founding days and his later interest in Sailing to soften any wounds he felt from what the English players thought of him.

And, he has a Shield named after him.

RP Giltinan had his profession as a schoolmaster to attend to after his moderate returns when he played just a few games of cricket with SUCC.

James Rodgers

JACK FRANCIS CONNELLY: Cricketer, teacher, prisoner of war

JACK FRANCIS CONNELLY: Cricketer, teacher, prisoner of war

The 1941-42 SUCC Annual Report was a sombre account of a club bravely keeping just afloat during the dark days of World War II. Students had enlisted. Some were never to return. Others’ cricket careers were over.

In February 1942, Singapore had fallen. In April 1942, a RAF bomber had been shot down over Northern France. Only one of its crew survived the crash.

The 1941-42 Report’s editor, however, saw a glimmer of hope.

           “We were very pleased to hear that Jack Connolly (sic) has been reported to be a prisoner of war after being on the missing list for some time.”

The Mosman Cricket Club Annual of the same season, 1941-42, contained the same news: Jack Connelly was a prisoner of war.

This was Jack Francis Connelly who had been born at Petersham on 7 March 1909, the only son of George (1883-1948) and Florence Christine nee Muldoon (1881-1973) and the older brother of Sheila (1913-2004) and Patricia (1915-1988).

Jack Connelly played for the Mosman Baseball Club from 1927 when he helped set up the club. He had joined the Mosman Cricket Club in 1926. In 1936-37, he coached the Mosman Green Shield (under 16) side.

He was not yet 19 when he took up his first teaching post at Neutral Bay Public School in 1928, as an Assistant Teacher, earning only 145 pounds per year. He then taught at various schools around NSW without formal teaching qualifications before entering Sydney University in 1937 to study Arts. He eventually graduated BA in 1940.

In his first season with SUCC, 1937-38, he batted steadily and bowled medium pace in 2nd Grade and in the Inter varsity games against Queensland and Melbourne before he became SUCC 1st Grader number 286. His three innings in 1st Grade, however, produced only 14 runs. In 1938-39, now a member of the Club’s selection committee, he seems to have volunteered to captain the Club’s ‘District Colts XI’ or 4th Grade side. His 205 runs and 30 wickets were invaluable.  

In what was to be his final season with the Club, 1939-40, Jack placed himself in the 5th Grade side playing in the Municipal and Shire competition. He was involved generously in the Club’s administration as Honorary Secretary, delegate to the Sports Union, a member of the selection committee and President-elect of the AUSA for 1940-41. In 5th Grade, his batting flourished, dominated by 125 against Burwood, one of his four scores over 50 during the season, and he was a damaging bowler with 47 wickets including 9 for 51 against Northern District.

He never did take up his position with the AUSA.

By September 1940, Jack had enlisted at Mosman where he was living. He embarked in December, attached to the RAAF (Regimental number 402566) before serving with the RAF in 107 Squadron.

On 12 April 1942, at 12.21 hours, he took off from Great Massingham in a Boston III  W8355. The aircraft was hit by flak and was ditched in the English Channel. Three were killed, all Londoners. Sergeant Colin Frank Docherty (wireless operator), Sergeant Thomas Joseph Delaney (air gunner) and the 19 year old pilot, Sergeant Allan Sydney Hatton. Jack was the only survivor and he was taken prisoner (POW 106) and sent to Stalag Luft L5 at Heydekrug.

Jack was a prisoner for three years. He’s briefly mentioned by the 1943-44 Mosman CC Annual Report as being in a POW camp in East Prussia. Somehow, the 1944 edition of Wisden had a story of an extraordinary cricket game played by the prisoners.

           “Stalag Luft Prison Camp in East Prussia. Australia won a ‘Test’ match by 3 runs, the last English wicket falling to a wonderful catch off the last ball of the final over…that catch gave JE Connolly (sic), who was cricket secretary of Sydney University before the war, a match record of 13 wickets for 60 runs.”

Jack recorded his thoughts from Stalag 357-6 in January 1945:

             “As part of the alleged reprisal measure, they [the German authorities] stopped all organised entertainment and closed the library…Before that, we had put on a good many plays, arranged symphony concerts with gramophone records.”

He wrote about books that he had read as part of his keeping mentally alert by studying works such as Harold Laski’s Grammar of Politics.

He was released in April 1945, almost three years to the day of the crash and he reported to the Brighton Reception Camp. Within a few weeks, his weight had increased from 10 stone 8 pounds to 12 stone 4 pounds. He was gracious, writing:

            “No one could praise too highly the service authorities and the Red Cross for what they were doing for us ex-prisoners.”

Mosman’s 1944-45 Annual Report gives details of three Mosman CC cricketers who had been released:

Jack Connelly, Keith Carmody and Peter Pearson. Ten Mosman players died on active service, including Dr Llondha Holland who had also played for SUCC and who had been killed in May 1943 just off the Queensland coast when his Hospital Ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, resulting in 278 Australians being lost at sea.

Jack arrived back in Australia. He resumed his teaching career at Yanco Agricultural High School and then at North Sydney Boys’ High in 1952 as a French Master. Ian Craig, the future Australian Test captain and Mosman player, wrote to Mr Connelly during the 1953 tour of England to reassure him that his French had improved.

Jack resumed his cricket career with Mosman.  Aged 45, he captained the 4th Grade side of 1953-54 for whom he took a hat trick during the season. By 1963 he was at Surry Hills. He married and spent some time overseas before returning to Australia where he died in Perth aged 76 in 1986, 43 years after the crash.

In the SUCC Annual Reports, however, the last mention made of the former SUCC Honorary Secretary and lower grade captain was in the 1941-42 Report which managed to spell his surname incorrectly.

Nevertheless, he had been given another chance of life.

If any of our readers knows any other details of Jack’s life, I would be most grateful to hear from them.

Gracious thanks to cricket historians, Ric Sissons and Alf James and to Hartley Anderson, Max Bonnell and Pat Rodgers for uncovering details of JF Connelly’s life.

JF CONNELLY. SUCC 1937-40

BATTING                                             BOWLING

1st Grade 3-0-?-14                             -

2nd Grade 9-3-49no-96                      13-332

4th Grade 15-2-37-205                       30-466

5th Grade 12-2-125-382                     47-557

ALL GRADES 39-7-125-697-21.8      90-1355-15.1

James Rodgers

SEASON 2022/23 CLUB CAPTAIN ANNOUNCEMENT

SEASON 2022/23 CLUB CAPTAIN ANNOUNCEMENT

It is our pleasure to introduce our new Club Captain for the 2022/23 Season – Rex Greaves.

 

On the Field

Rex is a promising fast bowler who has taken more than 80 wickets in his three seasons with the SUCC. He joined the club in the 2019/20 Season, where he was a valued member of our Fourth Grade and PGs sides. Rex had a great first year. He won the Fourth Grade Minor/Major Premiership and during the season, he picked up his Club Best bowling figures of 6/45 off 17 overs. By the end of the 2020/21 Season, he had moved up through the grades and was an integral part of our Second Grade side, thanks to his consistent form with the ball. Unfortunately, last season Rex had to endure an injury prone season and was unable to play at least 50% of the matches. However, in the 9 matches he did play, he claimed 18 crucial wickets.

Rex is excited and ready to go for the 2022/23 Season, with his sights set on earning his First Grade Cap.

 

Off the Field

Rex is studying a Bachelor of Arts and Advanced Studies where he Majors in International Studies and Political Economics. He is a driven student who is nearing the end of his studies, expecting to Graduate in December this year. He is currently seeking internships and work opportunities in his study area, actively trying to get experience in his industry.

Rex has been a part of the Elite Athlete Program since the 2020/21 Season and is very grateful he was selected in this squad. He has mentioned being part of the program has helped him get the most out of both the SUCC and University experience.

Part of his role as Club Captain involves holding an important position on the Sydney University Cricket Club Board, where he is the conduit between the playing members and club management. Working closely with the General Manager, Rex will have an active role in event planning throughout the season.

 

Congratulations Rex!

Good luck for the season ahead.