| Jack Elliott | |
| Full Name: | John Elliott |
| Nationality: | British (English) |
| Birth Date: | 12 October 1901 |
| Birth Place: | Hoxton, London, England |
| Death Place: | Balikpapan, Indonesia |
| Sport: | Boxing |
John "Jack" Elliott (12 October 1901 – 3 July 1945) was a British middleweight boxer who competed in the 1920s.[1] [2]
Elliott won a silver medal in boxing at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, losing against the successful British boxer Harry Mallin in the final bout. He won the Amateur Boxing Association 1924[3] and 1925[4] middleweight title, when boxing out of the Polytechnic Boxing Club.[5]
At some point following his Olympic appearance, Elliott emigrated to Australia. On 8 April 1941, a year-and-a-half after the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the Australian Army in Paddington, New South Wales, giving his residence as Sydney.[6] He was discharged as a staff sergeant in 1943 and became a war correspondent. On 3 July 1945, while covering the invasion of Balikpapan with fellow journalist William Smith, Elliott went ahead of the advancing Australian troops; a Bren gunner, believing them to be Japanese troops, shot and killed them both.[7] [8]