Stuart King

{{Infobox AFL biography

| name = Stuart King

| image = Hoadleys card king.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Trading card 1933

| fullname = Stuart Patrick King

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1906|4|22|df=y}}

| birth_place = Ararat, Victoria

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1943|2|28|1906|4|22|df=y}}

| death_place = at sea near the Frankland Islands, Queensland

| originalteam = University Blacks

| height = 184 cm

| weight = 86 kg

| position =

| statsend = 1933

| years1 = 1931–1933

| club1 = St Kilda

| games_goals1 = 43 (14)

| coachyears1 = 1932

| coachclub1 = St Kilda

| coachgames_wins1 = 11 (2–9–0)

| careerhighlights =

}}

Stuart Patrick King (22 April 1906 – 28 February 1943) was an Australian sportsman who played first-class cricket for Victoria and Australian rules football for Victorian Football League club St Kilda.

Family

The son of David James King (1873-), and Emily Mary King, née Matthews, later Mrs. Edwards, Stuart Patrick King was born in Ararat, Victoria on 22 April 1906.

He married Kathleen Patricia Lightfoot (1911-) at Newman College's chapel on 14 January 1935.[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224470299 Engagements, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 17 December 1932), p. 29]; [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243185278 (Photograph), The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 10 December 1932), p. 22.][https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11006606 Wedding, The Argus, Friday, 11 January 1935), p. 10]; [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141431019 Weddings: King—Lightfoot, The Australasian, (Saturday, 19 January 1935), p. 12.][https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/17702139 (Photograph), Table Talk, (Thursday, 31 January 1935), p. 39.] They had two children: Gerald and Diana.[https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/has-mystery-missing-ww2-airman-and-former-st-kilda-football-captain-finally-been-solved Reynolds, K., "Has mystery of missing WW2 airman and former St Kilda football captain finally been solved?", The Citizen, 22 April 2015.]

Education

Educated at the University of Melbourne, he graduated Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1930,[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244857504 320 Degrees Conferred, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 12 April 1930), p. 3.] and was admitted to the bar on 1 May 1931.[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/242784811 30 New Lawyers Swell Crowded Bar, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 1 May 1931), p. 6.]"Mr Stuart King, the interstate cricketer and member of the St. Kilda football team, has started practice as a barrister and solicitor in Chancery House, Little Collins Street. Mr King graduated in law last year." ([http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242952484 Personal, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Friday, 1 May 1931), p. 6]).

Cricket

Born in Ararat, Victoria, King started his cricket career first, debuting for Victoria in the 1926/27 Sheffield Shield season, on 17 December 1926, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, against Queensland.McCrery (2017). He was a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman and batted in the middle order. The last of his 12 first-class matches was played in 1932/33 and he finished with 417 runs at 27.80. His claim to fame as a cricketer was scoring seven of Victoria's world record 1107 runs against New South Wales in his debut summer.{{cite web |title=Victoria v New South Wales, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne on 24th, 27th, 28th, 29th December 1926 |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/12/12150.html |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=2 April 2024 |url-access=subscription}}

Football

Having been recruited from the University Blacks, King played his first VFL match for St Kilda in 1931 and the following year was appointed club captain. When Charlie Hardy left the Saints seven games into the 1932 season he acted as a caretaker coach for the rest of the year. King played mostly as a defender and in his three seasons managed 43 games.

Military service

File:Stuart King.jpg in Cairns]]

Already a well-established barrister and solicitor,In 1941, "Stuart King, LL.B." was practising from 368 Collins Street, Melbourne: [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8211684 Law Notices, The Argus, (Tuesday, 21 October 1941), p. 4.] King enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 30 March 1942 as an intelligence officer, and was posted to 20 Squadron, gaining the rank of Flying Officer.

Death

He was killed as a result of an aircraft crash off the coast of Queensland on 28 February 1943.[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11794930 Deaths: On Active Service: King, The Argus, (Monday, 4 October 1943), p. 2.][https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/pby/A24-25.html PBY Catalina Serial Number A24-25, Pacific Wrecks, 4 February 2018.][https://news.defence.gov.au/media/media-releases/wwii-catalina-aircraft-wreckage-confirmed WWII Catalina aircraft wreckage confirmed, Australian Government: Department of Defence: Defence News and Media, 21 September 2015.] King wasn't a member of the crew {{em-dash}} he went along as a 'supernumerary' person to observe the mission.{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=Keryn |title=Has mystery of missing WW2 airman and former St Kilda football captain finally been solved? |url=https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/has-mystery-missing-ww2-airman-and-former-st-kilda-football-captain-finally-been-solved |website=thecitizen.org.au |accessdate=18 March 2019}}

Footnotes

References

[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ViewPDF.aspx?B=1071307&D=D World War II Service Record: Flying Officer Stuart Patrick King (255266), (Part One), National Archives of Australia.]
[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5257813&S=1&T=PDF&D=D World War II Service Record: Flying Officer Stuart Patrick King (255266), (Part Two), National Archives of Australia.]
[http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?ServiceId=R&VeteranId=1053460 World War II Nominal Roll: Flying Officer Stuart Patrick King (255266).]
[https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1719281 Roll of Honour: Flying Officer Stuart Patrick King (255266), Australian War Memorial.]
[https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2801869/KING,%20STUART%20PATRICK Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Flying Officer Stuart Patrick King (255266).]
McCrery, N., The Coming Storm: Test and First-Class Cricketers Killed in World War Two, Pen and Sword, (Barnesley), 2017. {{ISBN|1-52670-697-0}}