Norm Le Brun

Norm Le Brun
Le Brun in 1934
Personal information
Full name Norman Stanley Le Brun
Date of birth (1908-04-22)22 April 1908
Place of birth Richmond, Victoria
Date of death 15 November 1944(1944-11-15) (aged 36)
Place of death Aitape, New Guinea
Original team(s) Richmond Seconds
Height 171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 76 kg (168 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1929 South Melbourne (VFL) 03 0(2)
1930 Sandhurst (BFL)
1931–1932 Essendon (VFL) 23 0(4)
1933–1934 Collingwood (VFL) 19 (23)
1935 Carlton (VFL) 05 0(2)
Total 50 (31)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1935.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Norman Stanley Le Brun (22 April 1908 – 15 November 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne, Essendon, Collingwood and Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was one of the few players to play with four different VFL clubs.

Family

The son of Francis Thomas Willimet Le Brun (1876–1952),[1][2][3] and Mary Jane Le Brun (1875–1955), née West, Norman Stanley Le Brun was born in Richmond, Victoria on 22 April 1908.[4]

Football

South Melbourne (VFL)

Granted a clearance from Richmond,[5] he played 3 senior games for South Melbourne in 1929.

Sandhurst (BFL)

Cleared from South Melbourne in April 1930 to Sandhurst Football Club in the Bendigo Football League,[6] Le Brun won the inaugural Bendigo Football League best and fairest award, the Fred Wood Medal in 1930.[7]

Essendon (VFL)

Cleared from Sandhurst to Essendon Football Club in May 1931,[8]

Collingwood (VFL)

Cleared from Essendon to Collingwood Football Club in April 1933,[9] he played 19 senior games over two seasons (1933–1934).

Carlton (VFL)

Cleared from Collingwood to Carlton in April 1935,[10] he played in five senior matches.

Griffith Football Club (LDFA)

In 1936 he was appointed captain-coach of the Griffith Football Club in the Leeton District Football Association.[11]

South Warrnambool (HFL)

In 1937 he was appointed captain-coach of the South Warrnambool Football Club in the Hampden Football League.[12]

Wangaratta (OMFA)

In 1938 he was appointed as playing-coach of the Wangaratta Football Club in the Ovens & Murray Football Association.[13] Having coached the side to the Association's premiership in 1938, he was re-appointed in 1939.[14]

Ganmain (SWDFL)

In 1940 he was appointed as playing-coach of the Ganmain Football Club in the South West District Football League[15] and coached them to a premiership.[16]

Military service

Employed as a bricklayer at the time, he enlisted as a commando in the Second AIF on 26 February 1942, a week after the Bombing of Darwin.[17]

He was killed in action, when shot by a Japanese sniper, on 15 November 1944, in New Guinea during the Aitape–Wewak campaign.[18]

… In the Aitape sector, too, is the Le Brun Feature, a steep hill on the Danmap River, and known now simply as Le Brun.
It is named after the first Australian killed in the area, Norman Le Brun, trooper in a cavalry commando squadron, and former well-known Victorian footballer. The Herald, 5 May 1945.[19]

He is buried at the Lae War Cemetery.[20]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Deaths: Lebrun, The Age, (Wednesday, 1 October 1952), p.9.
  2. ^ In Memoriam: Le Brun, The Age, (Tuesday, 29 September 1953), p.11.
  3. ^ Missing Friends, The Argus, (Friday, 24 July 1953), p.11.
  4. ^ Roll of Honour Circular: Trooper Norman Stanley LeBrun (VX76818), Collection of the Australian War Memorial.
  5. ^ The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 11 May 1929), p.2.
  6. ^ Exchange of Players, The Age, (Wednesday, 16 April 1930), p.16.
  7. ^ "Bendigo – Best & Fairest". The Argus. 15 September 1930. p. 13. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  8. ^ Football, The Age, (Saturday, 2 May 1931), p.14.
  9. ^ Club Notes: Essendon Select Two Recruits, The Age, (Friday, 29 April 1933), p.6.
  10. ^ League Clearances, The Argus, (Thursday, 25 April 1935), p.11.
  11. ^ Australian Rules Football, The Murrimbidgee Irrigator, (Tuesday, 5 May 1936), p.2.
  12. ^ Football and Cricket in County Centres, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 1 May 1937), p.75.
  13. ^ Barclay, B., "Rippon for Essendon", The Herald, (Wednesday, 6 April 1938), p.28.
  14. ^ From Forward's Notebook, The Age, (Wednesday 5 April 1939), p.8.
  15. ^ Australian Rules, The Murrumbidgee Irrigator, (Tuesday, 14 May 1940), p.2.
  16. ^ "1940 – Ganmain celebrate premiership victory". Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW). 17 October 1940. p. 3. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  17. ^ Note that all of his official military records (Nominal Roll, etc.) record his family name as "LeBrun" (or "Lebrun") – rather than "Le Brun", whilst the Australian War Memorial records his family name as "Le Brun".
  18. ^ Army Casualties: Victoria: Australia and the Islands: Killed in Action, The Argus, (Wednesday, 6 December 1944), p.6.
  19. ^ Leonard, R.B., "R.B. Leonard Tells How . . . They Gave It a Name, The Herald, (Saturday, 5 May 1945), -.9/
  20. ^ Trooper Norman Stanley Lebrun (VX76818), Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

References

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