Hylton Davies
Hylton George Leslie "Heck" Davies (1915-1945) was an Australian AIF officer who fell in WWII during the Battle of Balikpapan. He had been a top-grade rugby league footballer who played for Newtown in the NSWRFL in the 1930s.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Hylton George Leslie Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 28 December 1915||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 16 July 1945 29) Balikpapan, Borneo, Dutch East Indies | (aged||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [1] |
Rugby career
Davies played four seasons of first grade for Newtown[2] between 1936 and 1939 before his war service.
Military service
Davies enlisted in the AIF in late 1939 and didn't play rugby league again.[3] He attained the rank of captain in the Australian Army and he served in Great Britain, Syria, The Middle East, Kokoda Track, Lae and Borneo.[4]
Hylton Davies was killed during the Battle of Balikpapan in 1945 when a Japanese mortar shell hit Davies' battalion's headquarters.[5]
Personal
Davies married Lurline Hook, diving gold medallist at the 1938 Empire Games. She and their son, Ian, survived him.[4]
References
- "Hylton Davies - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, 1995. ISBN 1875169571
- WW2 Nominal Roll (Hylton Davies) http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?ServiceId=A&VeteranId=125890%5B%5D
- "Capt. H. C. Davies Killed in Action". The Northern Star. New South Wales, Australia. 24 July 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 16 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- Sydney Morning Herald- Death Notice 28/7/1945