Charles William "Dick" Welch (30 January 1913 – 17 October 2002) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).Holmesby & Main (2014), p.935.
Family The son of Charles James Welch (1880-1936),Deaths: Welch, The Argus, (Wednesday, 16 September 1936), p.1.Fatal Accident, Alexandra and Yea Standard, (Friday, 25 September 1936), p.3.Country Oarsman's Tragic Death, The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 26 September 1936), p.73. and Ellen Maud Welch (1887-1975), née Sullivan, Charles William Welch was born at Nagambie, Victoria on 30 January 1913.
He married Ivy Estelle Heaven (1919-2003) at Ascot Vale, Victoria on 7 September 1940. They had one child; a daughter, Julie-Ann.
Rowing An outstanding rower, he was one of the six Nagambie oarsmen that represented Victoria in the 1934 King's Cup in Hobart.'Derwent', "Six Nagambie Men In Vic. King's Cup Crew", The Referee, (Thursday, 22 March 1934), p.11. He also represented Victoria in the 1935 King's Cup in Sydney.de Lacy, H.A., "Victoria's 12.7 King's Cup Crew", The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 6 March 1935), p.7.
Football Nagambie (WNEA) He played for several seasons for the Nagambie Football Club in the Waranga-North-Eastern Association.Nagambie (Team Photograph), The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 4 August 1934), p.37.
Essendon (VFL) On 1 May 1936 he was granted a clearance from Nagambie to Essendon.Taylor, Percy, "League Football Today", The Argus, (Saturday, 2 May 1936), p.21.Maplestone (1996), pp.408, 414, 477-479. He was a regular member of the Seconds; and played nine senior games in 1936 (his first was against South Melbourne on 30 May 1936),The Teams: South Melbourne v. Essendon, The Age, (Friday, 29 May 1936), p.7. ten senior games in 1937, one senior game in 1938 (his last was against Collingwood on 30 April 1938),Essendon Defence Moves, The Argus, (Friday, 29 April 1938), p.18. and was part of the Essendon Seconds team that were defeated by a single point by a combined Mildura District Football League team, at Mildura on 24 September 1938.Mildura's Splendid Display: Essendon Defeated, Sunraysia Daily, (Monday, 26 September 1938), p.2.
Coburg (VFA) Omitted from Essendon's senior list in April 1939,"From Forward's Notebook", The Age, (Tuesday, 11 April 1939), p.8. he was cleared from Essendon to Coburg.Barclay, Bert, "Cleared to V.F.A. Clubs", The (Melbourne) Herald, Monday, 17 April 1939), p.24.Coburg, The Argus, (Wednesday, 19 April 1939), p.12.Evans, George, "Coburg All The Way", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 22 April 1939), p.3.Hard and Fast, The Age, (Monday, 1 May 1939), p.16.
Military service Having enlisting in the Second AIF in July 1940,Drawing on New Class, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Tuesday, 2 July 1940), p.3.Reunion after Adventure, The Argus, (Wednesday, 3 July 1940), p.5. he served in the Middle East and in New Guinea during World War II.World War II Nominal Roll.World War II Military Record.
Death He died at Heathcote Health, Heathcote, Victoria, on 17 October 2002.
Notes
References
World War II Service Record: Lieutenant Charles William Welch (VX43610), National Archives of Australia Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014), The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.), Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
External links
"(Welch, Coburg, 1939)", The VFA Project.