Jim Bonella

James Henry Bonella (17 December 1884 – 24 May 1918) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL), under the name of Jim Bonelli.

Jim Bonella
Personal information
Full name James Henry Bonella
Date of birth 17 December 1884
Place of birth Maldon, Victoria
Date of death 24 May 1918(1918-05-24) (aged 33)
Place of death Étaples, France
Original team(s) Pembroke
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1908 Melbourne 1 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1908.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

He died of gunshot wounds received whilst on active service in France during World War I.

Family

The son of Pietro Egidio "Peter" Bonelli (1844–1888),[1] and Margaret Bonelli (1850-1928), née Williams,[2] James Henry Bonelli, also known as Bonella, was born at Maldon, Victoria on 17 December 1884.[3]

He married Eliza Puncher (1885–1968) in 1912.[4] They had one son, James Avenel Bonella (1913–2002).

Eliza's brother, Jim's brother-in-law, Private Joseph Samuel Puncher (also known as James Samuel Puncher) was killed in action in France on 21 November 1916.[5][6]

Footballer

Recruited from Pembroke, he played one senior match for the Melbourne Football Club, in the last match of the season, on a very muddy ground, against Fitzroy, at the Brunswick Street Oval on 5 September 1908.

There had been a two-week break between rounds 17 and 18 due to the 1908 Melbourne Carnival. Melbourne's Dick Fowler, recruited from Caulfield Grammar School, and Fitzroy's Tom Norton, recruited from Hawthorn, also played their first and only senior VFL matches on that day.[7][8]

He returned to Pembroke, and played for them in 1909.[9]

Military service

Working as a picture-framer, he enlisted in the First AIF on 18 January 1915.

Embarking from Melbourne, Victoria, on HMAT Ulysses (A38) on 10 May 1915, he served overseas as a private in the 2nd Battalion, Australian Machine Gun Corps.

He was on the HMAT Southland when it was torpedoed on the Aegean Sea on 2 September 1915.[10]

Death

He was severely wounded in his left thigh, whilst in action with the 21st Battalion, A Company, on 20 May 1918 and was evacuated to a military hospital. Although he had been successfully operated upon on 21 May 1918, he died of his wounds[11] on 24 May 1918.[12][13][14]

He is buried in section LXVIII, row D, grave 11 of Étaples Military Cemetery in northwest France.[15]

See also

Notes
  1. He died at Kew Mental Hospital on 17 August 1888, his death (due to "brain disease") was registered under the name of "Peter Bonilla".
  2. At the time of her death, she was known as "Bonella": Deaths: Bonella, The Age, (Wednesday, 24 October 1928), p.1.
  3. His father and mother were variously recorded as Bonelli and Bonella, and James' birth (in 1885), his marriage (in 1912), and his son's birth (in 1913) were officially recorded with the family name Bonelli.
  4. Deaths: Bonella, The Age, (Friday, 14 June 1968), p.18.
  5. "Roll of Honour – Joseph Samuel Puncher (482)". Australian War Memorial.
  6. "In Memoriam: On Active Service: Puncher". The Argus. 22 November 1919. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Fitzroy's Upward Move". The Argus. 7 September 1908. p. 5 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Fitzroy (11.18) Beat Melbourne (1.4)". The Age. 7 September 1908. p. 9.
  9. "Victorian Junior Association: Notes". The Argus. 10 May 1909. p. 5 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Our Heroes: Private J. H. Bonella, The Maldon News, (Friday, 1 June 1918), p.3.
  11. "A sudden attack of Heart Failure": Red Cross Records.
  12. Died on Service: Bonella, The Argus, (Monday, 3 June 1918), p.1.
  13. Died on Service: Bonella, The Argus, (Tuesday, 4 June 1918), p.1.
  14. Died on Service: Bonella, The Argus, (Saturday, 15 June 1918), p.13.
  15. "BONELLA, JAMES HENRY". Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

References
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