Norm Le Brun Explained

Norm Le Brun
Fullname:Norman Stanley Le Brun
Birth Date:22 April 1908
Birth Place:Richmond, Victoria
Death Place:Aitape, New Guinea
Originalteam:Richmond Seconds
Height:171 cm
Weight:76 kg
Guernsey:SM. 13
Ess. 13
Col. 1933: 33, 1934: 18
Car. 18
Statsend:1935
Years1:1929
Club1:South Melbourne (VFL)
Games Goals1:3 (2)
Years2:1930
Club2:Sandhurst (BFL)
Years3:1931–1932
Club3:Essendon (VFL)
Games Goals3:23 (4)
Years4:1933–1934
Club4:Collingwood (VFL)
Games Goals4:19 (23)
Years5:1935
Club5:Carlton (VFL)
Games Goals5:5 (2)
Games Goalstotal:50 (31)

Norman Stanley Le Brun (22 April 1908 – 15 November 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne, Essendon, Collingwood and Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was one of the few players to play with four different VFL clubs.

Family

The son of Francis Thomas Willimet Le Brun (1876–1952),[1] [2] [3] and Mary Jane Le Brun (1875–1955), née West, Norman Stanley Le Brun was born in Richmond, Victoria on 22 April 1908.[4]

Football

South Melbourne (VFL)

Granted a clearance from Richmond,[5] he played 3 senior games for South Melbourne in 1929.

Sandhurst (BFL)

Cleared from South Melbourne in April 1930 to Sandhurst Football Club in the Bendigo Football League,[6] Le Brun won the inaugural Bendigo Football League best and fairest award, the Fred Wood Medal in 1930.[7]

Essendon (VFL)

Cleared from Sandhurst to Essendon Football Club in May 1931,[8]

Collingwood (VFL)

Cleared from Essendon to Collingwood Football Club in April 1933,[9] he played 19 senior games over two seasons (1933–1934).

Carlton (VFL)

Cleared from Collingwood to Carlton in April 1935,[10] he played in five senior matches.

Griffith Football Club (LDFA)

In 1936 he was appointed captain-coach of the Griffith Football Club in the Leeton District Football Association.[11]

South Warrnambool (HFL)

In 1937 he was appointed captain-coach of the South Warrnambool Football Club in the Hampden Football League.[12]

Wangaratta (OMFA)

In 1938 he was appointed as playing-coach of the Wangaratta Football Club in the Ovens & Murray Football Association.[13] Having coached the side to the Association's premiership in 1938, he was re-appointed in 1939.[14]

Ganmain (SWDFL)

In 1940 he was appointed as playing-coach of the Ganmain Football Club in the South West District Football League[15] and coached them to a premiership.[16]

Military service

Employed as a bricklayer at the time, he enlisted as a commando in the Second AIF on 26 February 1942, a week after the Bombing of Darwin.[17]

He was killed in action, when shot by a Japanese sniper, on 15 November 1944, in New Guinea during the Aitape–Wewak campaign.[18]

… In the Aitape sector, too, is the Le Brun Feature, a steep hill on the Danmap River, and known now simply as Le Brun.
It is named after the first Australian killed in the area, Norman Le Brun, trooper in a cavalry commando squadron, and former well-known Victorian footballer. The Herald, 5 May 1945.[19]

He is buried at the Lae War Cemetery.[20]

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page19722871 Deaths: Lebrun, The Age, (Wednesday, 1 October 1952), p.9.
  2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page19729815 In Memoriam: Le Brun, The Age, (Tuesday, 29 September 1953), p.11.
  3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23257810 Missing Friends, The Argus, (Friday, 24 July 1953), p.11.
  4. https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1069207/large/5613420.JPG Roll of Honour Circular: Trooper Norman Stanley LeBrun (VX76818), Collection of the Australian War Memorial.
  5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164964095 The (Emerald Hill) Record, (Saturday, 11 May 1929), p.2.
  6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202255685 Exchange of Players, The Age, (Wednesday, 16 April 1930), p.16.
  7. Web site: Bendigo – Best & Fairest . The Argus . 3 March 2021 . 13 . 15 September 1930.
  8. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page18965996 Football, The Age, (Saturday, 2 May 1931), p.14.
  9. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204892305 Club Notes: Essendon Select Two Recruits, The Age, (Friday, 29 April 1933), p.6.
  10. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12232531 League Clearances, The Argus, (Thursday, 25 April 1935), p.11.
  11. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156143049 Australian Rules Football, The Murrimbidgee Irrigator, (Tuesday, 5 May 1936), p.2.
  12. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225718848 Football and Cricket in County Centres, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 1 May 1937), p.75.
  13. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244594929 Barclay, B., "Rippon for Essendon", The Herald, (Wednesday, 6 April 1938), p.28.
  14. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205988279 From Forward's Notebook, The Age, (Wednesday 5 April 1939), p.8.
  15. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156077637 Australian Rules, The Murrumbidgee Irrigator, (Tuesday, 14 May 1940), p.2.
  16. Web site: 1940 – Ganmain celebrate premiership victory . Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW) . 29 December 2022 . 3 . 17 October 1940.
  17. Note that all of his official military records (Nominal Roll, etc.) record his family name as "LeBrun" (or "Lebrun") – rather than "Le Brun", whilst the Australian War Memorial records his family name as "Le Brun".
  18. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11373587 Army Casualties: Victoria: Australia and the Islands: Killed in Action, The Argus, (Wednesday, 6 December 1944), p.6.
  19. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249166429 Leonard, R.B., "R.B. Leonard Tells How . . . They Gave It a Name, The Herald, (Saturday, 5 May 1945), -.9/
  20. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2156025/lebrun,-norman-stanley Trooper Norman Stanley Lebrun (VX76818), Commonwealth War Graves Commission.