Harry Comte
{{short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Harry Comte
| image =
| fullname = William Henry James Comte
| birth_date = {{birth date|1909|3|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = Moama, New South Wales
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|5|30|1909|3|10|df=y}}
| death_place = Tarakan Island, Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies
| originalteam = Echuca
| height = 175 cm
| weight = 71 kg
| position =
| statsend = 1937
| years1 = 1930–1937
| club1 = St Kilda
| games_goals1 = 104 (55)
| careerhighlights =
}}
William Henry James Comte (10 March 1909 – 30 May 1945) was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL), and Sandringham in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1930s.
He fought in World War II with the 2/24th Battalion, Second A.I.F., and died of wounds sustained in action during the 1945 Battle of Tarakan.
Family
The second son of William Thomas Comte (1881–????), and Matilda Comte (1884–1943), née Flowers,[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122465181 Funerals: Late Mrs Matilda Comte, The Riverine Herald, (Friday, 16 July 1943), p. 1.] William Henry James Comte was born at Moama, in New South Wales on 10 March 1909.
He married Ruby Irene "Connie" Curtis (later, Mrs Jack Shearer) on 31 May 1941.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244988517 Today's Marriages: Comte—Curtis, The Herald, (Saturday, 31 May 1941), p. 21.] They had one son: John Henry Comte (1942–2018).
Football
File:1935 round 16 VFL Carlton vs. St Kilda.jpg, with St Kilda's Stan Lloyd shepherding (1935)]]
=Echuca (BFL)=
Recruited from the Moama Junior Football Club, he played for the Echuca Football Club (coached by ex-Fitzroy footballer Steve Donnellan) in the Bendigo Football League for three seasons (1927–1929).[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116615231 The Late Harry Comte; A Great Footballer and Grand Sportsman, The Riverine Herald, (Monday, 16 July 1945), p. 2.]
He was the club's best and fairest in his first year at the club, and played a number of games over those three seasons for combined Bendigo League teams.{{sfn|Main|Allen|2002|page=224}}
=St Kilda (VFL)=
Comte usually played as a rover or in defence. He won St Kilda's best and fairest in 1933.
=Sandringham (VFA)=
Cleared from St Kilda to Sandringham on 13 April 1938,[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11176568 League Men Cleared, The Argus, [Thursday, 14 April 1938), p. 20.] he was only able to play 17 matches over the two years he was with Sandringham (1938–1939), due to the knee injuries that had ended his career at St Kilda.
Military service
He enlisted for service with the Second AIF and served with the 2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion.
Death
He died at Tarakan Island on 30 May 1945 of wounds he sustained in action on 29 May 1945, and was buried at the Labuan War Cemetery.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204020332 Deaths: Comte, The Age, (Tuesday, 5 June 1945), p. 6]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116614228 Deaths: Comte, The Riverine Herald, (Monday, 11 June 1945), p. 2.][http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249163778 Former St. Kilda Footballer Killed, The Herald, (Tuesday, 5 June 1945), p. 3]; [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article189780890 The Last Post, The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 16 June 1945), p. 3.]
See also
Footnotes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book | last1 = Main | first1 = Jim | last2 = Allen | first2 = David | title = Fallen: The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War | publisher = Crown Content | location = Melbourne | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1-74095-010-7 | pages = 224–226 }}
- [https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ViewPDF.aspx?B=6059964&D=D World War Two Service Record: Private William Henry James Comte (VX102248)], National Archives of Australia.
- [https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1710696 Roll of Honour: Private William Henry James Comte (VX102248)], Australian War Memorial.
- [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article979807 Australian Army Casualty List: Victoria: Overseas: Died of Wounds, The Argus, (Wednesday, 27 June 1945), p. 4.]
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{AFL Tables | H/Harry_Comte }}
- {{AustralianFootball | harry+comte/5197 }}
- [http://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Players/Comte,_Harold_'Bill'.php Harold "Bill" Comte], at The VFA Project.
- [http://www.boylesfootballphotos.net.au/Harry+Comte Harry Comte], at Boyles Football Photos.
- [https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2677005/comte,-william-henry-james Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Private William Henry James Comte (VX102248).]
{{Trevor Barker Award}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comte, Harold}}
Category:Trevor Barker Award winners
Category:Australian Army personnel of World War II
Category:Australian military personnel killed in World War II
Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Category:St Kilda Football Club players
Category:Echuca Football Club players
Category:Burials at Labuan War Cemetery
Category:Australian Army soldiers