Game Of Their Lives

Description

As the Great War raged in 1916, two teams of Australian soldiers played an Australian Rules football match in London. It was the first time the world had seen our national game. But this was more than an exhibition match. It symbolised sport's role in driving young athletes to enlist and fight. The players came from every corner of the country - some of them stars in the VFL or champions in their city or state leagues. For all of them it was a chance to forget blood and battle and simply play, a final kick of the footy before the Western Front, from where some would never return. Now, 100 years on, Nick Richardson rekindles an incredible moment in our history and pays tribute to the men who played The Game of Their Lives.

Author description

Nick Richardson has been a journalist for three decades and has worked on newspapers and magazines in Australia and England. He has been a Margaret George fellow at the National Archives of Australia and a research fellow at the Australian Prime Ministers Centre. Nick has a PhD in history from the University of Melbourne and is adjunct professor of journalism at La Trobe University. He lives in Melbourne with his family.