Jack Simpson (rugby league) explained

Jack Simpson
Fullname:	Byron John Joseph Simpson
Birth Date:	1917
Year1start:	1936
Appearances1:	3
Tries1:	0
Goals1:	0
Fieldgoals1:	0
Points1:	0
Updated:	9 Jun 2021
New:	yes

Byron John Joseph Simpson (1917 – 9 April 1944) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s. He was killed in World War II.^[1]

Career

A former schoolboy rugby player from St. Josephs College, Jack Simpson played rugby league with St. George Dragons in 1936, playing a total of 3 first grade games.^[2]

War service and death

Jack Simpson enlisted in the RAAF in 1942. On 9 April 1944, an Avro Lancaster took off from RAF Binbrook with 7 aboard, among them Flight Sergeant Simpson, serving as an air bomber on the flight. The bomber's objective was to lay mines in the Baltic Sea, but the Lancaster crashed six minutes after take-off, killing all aboard.^{[3] [4]}

Notes and References

1. FOOTBALLER KILLED (Daily Telegraph, Sydney) 21 April 1944, Page 16 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/248893070?searchTerm=jack%20simpson%20st.george&searchLimits=l-decade=194|||l-state=New+South+Wales|||l-year=1944
2. Whiticker/Hudson – The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players (1995 Edtn.)
3. Web site: Lancaster III ME727 . rafcommands.com . 14 February 2020.
4. Web site: Simpson B . internationalbcc.co.uk . 14 February 2020.