| Full name | Michael Clifford | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 April 1916 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Forbes, NSW, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 9 October 1942 (aged 26) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | off Terrigal, NSW, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Michael Clifford (28 April 1916 — 9 October 1942) was an Australian rugby union international.
Clifford was born in Forbes and attended Bathurst's St Stanislaus' College.[1]
A goal-kicking fullback, Clifford played first-grade for St. George and was capped once for the Wallabies, against the All Blacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1938.[2] He was on the abandoned 1939–40 tour of Britain and Ireland with the Wallabies.[2] After a 100-point season with St. George in 1940, Clifford enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force.[2][3]
Clifford, who reached the rank of flight sergeant, was a Spitfire pilot with a Royal Air Force squadron during the war.[2] Back in Australia in 1942, he was killed in a training accident, while flying over Broken Bay near Terrigal.[2][4]
See also
References
- ↑ "Tragic Death of Serg.-Pilot Mick Clifford". The Forbes Advocate. 13 October 1942. p. 1 – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Michael Clifford". classicwallabies.com.au.
- ↑ "Mick Clifford's Century Goal". The Sun. 14 July 1940. p. 5 (Sports Section) – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Mick Clifford Rugby Star Dies On Duty". The Sun. 11 October 1942. p. 7 – via National Library of Australia.