On Saturday 28 October 1916, the former Olympic champion swimmer and the later Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Lieutenant Frank Beaurepaire, organised an Australian Rules football match in aid of the British and the French Red Cross.

Promoted as the Pioneer Exhibition Game of Australian Football in London, and "believed to be the first exhibition of Australian football in London" (de Lacy, 1949), the match was contested between two teams of Australian servicemen who were stationed in the UK the Australian Training Units Team and the Third Australian Divisional Team all of whom were highly skilled footballers, and the majority of whom had already played senior football in their respective states prior to their enlistment.

The Third Australian Divisional team beat the Australian Training Units Team 6.16 (52) to 4.12 (36).

Origin

The match was suggested by Sir John Monash, then in command of the 3rd Australian Division,There's an implication, within Hector de Lacy's 1938 interview with Hughie James (de Lacy, H.A., "Hughie James Comes Home and Talks of Some Great Men in a Great Game", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 30 April 1938), p.8), that the notion of such a match might have been suggested to Monash by his own soldiers (i.e., rather than the reverse). with the complete support of Brigadier-General Sir Newton Moore, former Premier of Western Australia and, at the time, General Officer Commanding Australian Imperial Force in the United Kingdom.Australian Imperial Force: Appointments, Promotions, etc.: Australian Imperial Force Depots in United Kingdom: Head-Quarters, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No.66, (Thursday, 3 May 1917), p.980. Both agreed that, if at all possible, the game should be played in London, rather than on the Salisbury Plain:McMullen (1939). Sir Frank Beaurepaire said today that the famous football match between the Third Divvy and the Training Units ... which is believed to be the first exhibition of Australian football in London ... held in Queen's Park, London, in 1916, would never have taken place but for the personal interest taken by the late Sir John Monash. ..."General Monash was keen on sport for the troops", said Sir Frank. "There was a very strong side in the Third Divvy at Larkhill while the Training Units were at Tidmouth [sic] [viz., Tidworth]. We had decided to play at Larkhill until the suggestion came from Sir John that we should play in London."He made everything possible. The organisers had an office at Horseferry Road [viz., AIF Headquarters] and every difficulty was straightened out by Sir John." — The Sporting Globe, 27 August 1949.Frank Beaurepaire's 1949 reminiscences at de Lacy (1949).

Monash's views on the value of sport Despite not being an athlete himself,"[Sport] was not something that Monash was particularly interested in or good at. In fact, he lacked any ball sense or hand-eye coordination. Unlike many of his troops, Monash never boxed, shot or played football as a boy. And, as an adult, he was only a reasonable runner, a fair shot and a mediocre horseman. But he understood Australians' "instinct for sport and adventure"." (Richardson, 2016, p.142). Monash firmly believed in the power of sport to boost troop morale and keep his soldiers fit for war.

On the evening of Saturday, 17 January 1920, for instance, in his response on behalf of the Army to the toast "The Navy and Army" at a dinner at Scott's Hotel, Melbourne, hosted by the president of the Victorian Cricket Association, Donald Mackinnon, for the visiting AIF Cricket team,A.I.F. Team Entertained: The Influence of Sport, The Argus, (Monday, 19 January 1920), p.7.C.J. Willis, a participant in the 1916 football match was also a member of that AIF cricket team (see team photographs at: :File:AIF_Cricket_XI_(AWM_D00685).jpg, and The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 10 January 1920), p.2, and Table Talk, (Thursday, 15 January 1920), p.15); and in the match, played at the MCG, 16–19 January 1920, Willis scored 111 runs (see: J.W., "Cricket: Victoria v. A.I.F. Team", The Australasian, (Saturday, 24 January 1920), pp.18-19). Monash made his position on the value of sport unequivocally clear: "Sir John Monash, who was greeted with loud applause, said that all responsible commanders of the A.I.F. early in the war were impressed with the importance of sport, which was a powerful assistance. The Y.M.C.A. and the Australian Comforts Fund had sent liberal and adequate supplies of sporting material. (Hear, hear.) Every unit had its teams, and the keeping of the spirit of sport alive was an important factor in maintaining the [morale]. An appeal to the men that never failed was the appeal to their sportsmanship. (Hear, hear.) This was the inspiration which took them to many victories. The appeal "It's up to you to play for your side" always told. (Cheers.) The reason the Australians were recognised, as possessing the gift for keen work to a degree not exceeded by any other army in the war, was that they had the capacity for collective effort, which was due to the influence of sport in their life in Australia. (Cheers.)" — The Australasian, 24 January 1920.The Influence of Sport, The Australasian, (Saturday, 24 January 1920), p.19.

Planning

The two generals chose Lieutenant-Colonel C.A. Keatinge Johnson,Clarence Arnold Keatinge Johnson (1870–1937). First World War Embarkation Roll: Major Clarence Arnold Keatinge Johnson, in the collection of the Australian War Memorial; First World War Nominal Roll: Lieutenant-Colonel Clarence Arnold Johnson, in the collection of the Australian War Memorial; First World War Service Record: Lieutenant-Colonel Clarence Arnold Keatinge Johnson, National Archives of Australia. then Commander of the A Group Training Brigade on Salisbury Plain, to be responsible for the arrangements; and, if possible, he was asked to select two first-class teams.

Keatinge-Johnson directed Major C.W. St John Clarke to begin the planning.Cyril Wilberforce St John Clarke (1876–1965). First World War Embarkation Roll: Major Cyril Wilberforce St. John Clarke, collection of the Australian War Memorial; First World War Nominal Roll: Major Cyril Wilberforce Clarke, collection of the Australian War Memorial; First World War Service Record: Major Cyril Wilberforce Clarke, National Archives of Australia.

St. John-Clarke, in turn, appointed Lieutenant Frank Beaurepaire who was in the UK at the time as a commissioner of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA),Y.M.C.A. and Soldiers: Work in English Camps, The Argus, (Saturday, 9 September 1916), p.17. and serving with the 3rd Division to be responsible for the 3rd Division, and Lieutenant H. Bartram of the 2nd Brigade,Harold Bartram (1880–1957). Richardson (2016), pp.144–145. First World War Embarkation Roll: Second Lieutenant Harold Bartram, collection of the Australian War Memorial; First World War Nominal Roll: Lieutenant Harold Bartram, collection of the Australian War Memorial; First World War Service Record: Lieutenant Harold Bartram, National Archives of Australia; Deaths: Bartram, The Age, (Saturday, 26 January 1957), p.19. to be responsible for the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th Divisions. Beaurepaire and Bartram immediately set to work and established an office in London. The match took almost three months to organise. The principal organiser [of the event] turns out to be Frank Beaurepaire, the Y.M.C.A. official, and former swimming writer for The Winner.To him is due the chief credit for the successful carrying out of all the innumerable details in connection with the undertaking — the getting together of the players, obtaining the necessary leave, arranging trial matches in order to get into some sort of form, the fixing on the ground, and having it marked off, arranging prices of admission, gatekeepers, etc., interviewing artists and others re programme, and the hundred and one other necessary items.That the whole affair panned out so successfully speaks well for his organising ability.But, then, we are used to expecting nothing but the best from any effort of Beaurepaire. — Gerald Brosnan, 10 January 1917.Brosnan (1917a).

Participants The members of the team squads had been chosen on the basis of their footballing skills. "On looking through the personnel of the teams the first thing that impresses one is the number of fine exponents of Australian football men who have shown exceptional skill on the fields here [in Australia] before thousands who took part in the match.That the organisers hit on the physiological [sic] moment is evidenced by a glance at the names [of the players that took part].Of course, there are any number of prominent footballers in the Army enough to form a dozen or more teams but to pick out a date on which such 36 first-class players as those who took part in the game could be brought together in London must be classed as nothing short of an inspiration.Probably not once again during the currency of the war will such a galaxy of football talent be gathered in England at the one time . . . " — Gerald Brosnan, 20 December 1916.Brosnan (1916b).

The majority of those chosen had already played senior football in their respective states, and a number of them had also played interstate representative football: Three squad members F.R. McGargill (New South Wales), P.J.H. Jory (Tasmania), and J.T. Cooper (Victoria) had represented their respective States at the Second Australian National Football Carnival, in Adelaide, in August 1911.Interstate Football Carnival, The (Adelaide) Chronicle, (Saturday, 12 August 1911), p.31. Three squad members J. Brake, J.H. James, and W.I. Sewart had represented Victoria in the interstate match against South Australia, at the MCG, on 6 July 1912,Inter-State Football: The Teams, The Age, (Saturday, 6 July 1912), p.18. and three J. Brake, J.T. Cooper, and W.I. Sewart had represented Victoria in the return match, against South Australia, in Adelaide on 10 August 1912.Football, The (Adelaide) Saturday Mail, (Saturday, 10 August 1912), p.1. Three squad members J. Brake, J.T. Cooper, and B.M.F. Sloss had represented Victoria in the interstate match against South Australia, in Adelaide, on 12 July 1913,Football, The (Adelaide) Daily Herald, (Saturday, 12 July 1913), p.7. and two J.H. James and B.M.F. Sloss had represented Victoria in the return match against South Australia at the MCG on 16 August 1913.Football: The Interstate Match, The Argus, (Saturday, 16 August 1913), p.16. Nine squad members F.R. McCargill (New South Wales), J. Pugh (Tasmania), J.W. Robertson (South Australia), J. Brake, J.T. Cooper, C.H. Lilley, J.H. James, B.M.F. Sloss (Victoria),In Brosnan's opinion (1916b), if the number of Collingwood players had not been restricted by the players-by-team criteria, D. Minogue would also have been included in the 1914 Carnival team. and D. Scullin (Western Australia) had represented their respective States at the Third Australian National Football Carnival, in Sydney, in August 1914.The Football Carnival, The Farmer and Settler, (Friday, 14 August 1914), p.4. One squad member, J.H. James, would go on (post-war) to represent Victoria in the interstate match against South Australia, in Adelaide, on 24 July 1920.Football: Victoria v. South Australia, The (Adelaide) Observer, (Saturday, 31 July 1920), p.13.