Talk:Blair Swannell

Online resources to build from

 * Google Search
 * Google Timeline search on the years player was alive/active
 * Career Summary at Scrum.com
 * Match list at scrum.com
 * Search at NLA newspapers online
 * [note about swannell's rough playing style]

Military Cross
While the CWGC publication about rugby players killed in WWI does say he got the MC, their actual casualty record for him does not mention it, and their is no mention in his service record either. Nor can I trace the award in the London Gazette at present. David Underdown (talk) 15:32, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Further adds
SauliH (talk) 18:19, 30 August 2010 (UTC)
 * This article states he capped for East Midlands? I am going to add it to the infobox, and maybe someone will know who to wikilink to.
 * the service record states he was single... This could be added.
 * "The Maori Footballers Tour". Fielding Star. 1909. Retrieved 31 August 2009 - this link details some of the claims Swannell made about his life... a summary of his 'self-promotion' might include this
 * interesting team photo here
 * taught life saving to military cadets
 * more on accomplishments in military
 * labelled obnoxious!!!
 * 1 month suspension
 * affection for mother
 * greatest coach
 * see page 16 - Is anything to be made of his Commision as a temporary "Captain" of the regular forces of the British Army? Not familiar with army awards etc, and ranks. Was this a posthumous commission?
 * That last link doesn't work for me, is it his service record? This, http://mappingouranzacs.naa.gov.au/file-view.html?b=8096469&s=B2455&c=SWANNELL%20BLAIR%20INSKIP should work better.  The letter I presume you are referring to seems to be page 15, not 16.  I don't think it's posthumous, merely that the commissioning parchment was among his personal effects at the time of death, and so it was returned to his mother as his next of kin and (presumably) beneficiary.  Just as earlier in the fil there is a note recording the despatch of his identity disc (ie dog tags).  That said, I can't quite work out when he'd have received this.  I thought you only received a commissioning parchment when you were first commissioned, so it would normally be in the rank of second lieutenant.  David Underdown (talk) 08:23, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
 * As I understand he was the rank of Major in the AIF and not the British Army which is the crux of the question... Captain is below Major no? One key point is the letter written in return for the receipt of the letter, look at the next page : "for form of commission and secure (?) receipt of same only regreting he never saw it." Apologies for not highlighting this point above. That would seem to indicate that he was never in ownership of that form. SauliH (talk) 13:52, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Looking further on through his file, I think the "regular British forces" bit on the pre-printed form may be a bit of a red herring, possibly using up stocks of old forms. If you browse through, you'll see that he was initially appointed a captain in the AIF on 3 September 1914, so I suspect the commissioning parchment relates to this.  I guess he never saw it because it was kept on his file at base records, and would have been given to him on his return to Australia, had he survived.  This sort of thing is of course why we're not supposed to engage in original research.  David Underdown (talk) 14:09, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Which is why I do not pretend to know what I am talking about! You can understand my curiousity though in that if there were a difference between commissions in the AIF and the British Army, this would be something to note. Thankyou for patiently elucidating this for me: the way that you explain it makes sense, and I can see that there is nothing more here than an interesting exchange between a grieving mother and military protocol. SauliH (talk) 15:02, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080930140954/http://www.northsrugby.com.au/default.asp?id=19 to http://www.northsrugby.com.au/default.asp?id=19
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100618084637/http://www.cwgc.org/admin/files/Rugby%20leaflet.pdf to http://www.cwgc.org/admin/files/Rugby%20leaflet.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110707184518/http://www.firstbattalion.au.com/Our%20Heritage.htm to http://www.firstbattalion.au.com/Our%20Heritage.htm

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