Derek Mollison

Crawford Derek Mollison (22 October 1901 – 19 December 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1] He died while serving in the Second Australian Imperial Force when an aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed at Canal Creek, near Yaamba, Queensland.

Derek Mollison
Personal information
Full name Crawford Derek Mollison
Date of birth (1901-10-22)22 October 1901
Place of birth South Yarra, Victoria
Date of death 19 December 1943(1943-12-19) (aged 42)
Place of death Yaamba, Central Queensland
Original team(s) Old Melburnians (MAFA)
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 81 kg (179 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1923–1928 Melbourne 66 (30)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1924–1925 Victoria 4 (-)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1928.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 1925.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Family

The son of Crawford Henry Mollison (1863-1949), the Victorian Government Pathologist,[2][3][4] and his second wife, Elizabeth Corientia Mollison (1869-1920), née Browne, daughter of Thomas Alexander Browne a.k.a. Rolf Boldrewood,[5][6] Crawford Derek Mollison was born, in South Yarra, on 22 October 1901.[7][8]

He married Muriel Wallis Ludbrook on 2 July 1924;[9][10] they had two children, Barbara (1925-),[11][12] and Graeme (1929-).[13][14][15]

His wife's brother, Campbell Malcolm Ludbrook, died (on 11 February 1922) as a result of the severe head injuries he sustained when an aeroplane in which he was a passenger crashed near Mildura;[16] the pilot, a friend of Ludbrook's, did not have a pilot's license, and the aeroplane had been denied a certificate of airworthiness by the Department of Civil Aviation.[17][18]

Crawford Derek Mollison died in an aircraft crash in Queensland while serving with the Second AIF on 19 December 1943.[19]

Education

Educated at Melbourne Grammar School, he was an excellent schoolboy cricketer,[20] and footballer.[21]

Football

On leaving school, he played football for Old Melburnians Football Club in the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association.[22]

A Victorian representative, he retired at a young age to pursue a business career.

Military service

He enlisted in the Second AIF, and served in both the Middle East and in New Guinea.

Death

On 19 December 1943, Mollison was one of 31 people on board when a C-47 Dakota aircraft of the 22nd Transport Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group crashed at Canal Creek, near Yaamba, Queensland, north of Rockhampton in Central Queensland. The plane, which was flying from Townsville to Brisbane, was carrying 20 US Armed Services personnel, two non-combatants, as well as Mollison and seven other members of the Australian Defence force.[23][24]

It was the second-worst air disaster in Australian history;[25] there were no survivors.[24]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  2. Deaths: Mollison, The Argus, (Friday, 8 April 1949), p.9; Many attend the funeral of Dr Mollison, The Argus, (Friday, 8 April 1948), p.6.
  3. Expert Who Helped To Solve Big Victorian Murders, The Barrier Miner, (Monday, 11 April 1949), p.2.
  4. Birrell, J., "Mollison, Crawford Henry (Mollie) (1863–1949)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 1986.
  5. Weddings: Mollison—Browne, The (Melbourne) Leader, (Saturday, 29 December 1900), p.40.
  6. Deaths: Mollison, The Argus, (Saturday, 17 April 1920), p.13.
  7. Births: Mollison, The Argus, (Saturday 2 November 1901), p.9.
  8. By family tradition, Crawford was the first given name of the eldest son: Changed Name: For Tradition, The (Melbourne) Herald, Wednesday, 22 June 1949), p.1 — Cecily Elizabeth Mollison, who became Cecily Elizabeth Mollison, Derek's half-sister, was the daughter of his father's third wife, Grace Elizabeth Mollison, née Thomas.
  9. Weddings: Mollison—Ludbrook, The Australasian, (Saturday, 5 July 1924), p.48.
  10. Weddings: Mollison—Ludbrook, Table Talk, (Thursday, 17 July 1924), p.45.
  11. Births: Mollison, The Argus, (Tuesday, 16 June 1925), p.1.
  12. (Wedding:) Shenton-Trim—Mollison, The Argus, (Thursday, 2 December 1948), p.11.
  13. Births: Mollison, The Argus, (Saturday, 19 January 1929), p.13.
  14. Old Boy, In School and Out: Junior Championships, The Australasian, (Saturday, 30 November 1940), p.32.
  15. Social News and Events, The Argus, (Saturday, 12 December 1953), p.20.
  16. Aeroplane Crash, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 11 February 1922), p.1.
  17. Unlicensed Flying: Mildura Passenger Dies, (Sunday, 12 February 1922), p.4.
  18. Deaths: Ludbrook, The Argus, (Monday, 13 February 1922), p.1.
  19. Deaths: Mollison, The Argus, (Wednesday, 22 December 1943), p.2; Deaths: Mollison, The Argus, (Thursday, 23 December 1943), p.2.
  20. College Sports, (Saturday, 28 December 1918), p.20.
  21. Public Schools' Premiership, The Argus, (Friday, 22 August 1919), p.5.
  22. Metropolitan Amateur Association, The Argus, (Monday, 20 June 1921), p.5.
  23. Crash of a C-47 of the 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron 374th Transport Group 30 miles north of Rockhampton at Rossmoya Rd, Canal Creek on 19 December 1943, oz@war, 26 September 2015.
  24. "A site to remember: Canal Creek air disaster". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  25. Ten Worst Aircraft Crashes in Australia, oz@war, 26 January 2015.

References
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