10888
STEPHENS, Victor Bernard
| Service Number: | 2333 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | Railway Unit (AIF) |
| Born: | Mt Torrens, South Australia, 9 February 1889 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Natural causes, Joslin, South Australia, 3 April 1966, aged 77 years |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Grand Masonic Lodge WW1 Honour Board (2), Adelaide Royal Oak Lodge Honor Roll, Adelaide South Australian Railways WW1 & WW2 Honour Boards, Birdwood WW1 & WW2 Soldier's Memorial, Richmond West Adelaide Football Club War Veterans Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Nov 1917: | Involvement Private, 2333, Railway Unit (AIF), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1917: | Embarked Private, 2333, Railway Unit (AIF), HMAT Port Sydney, Melbourne | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Sapper, 2333 | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 2333 |
Victor Bernard Stephens
Name: Victor Bernard Stephens
Service Number: 2333
Place of Birth: Mt. Torrens
Date of Birth: 9 February 1889
Place of Enlistment: Adelaide
Date of Enlistment: 11 February 1916
Age at Embarkation: 27
Marital status: Single
Next of Kin: Mother – Mrs Jessie L. Stephens, Blumberg (Birdwood)
Occupation: Clerk
Religion: Church of England
Rank: Private, October 1917 Reinforcements
West Adelaide Football Club involvement:
Victor played 25 games for WAFC from 1908 to 1909, including 2 Australian Club Championship games. He made his debut on 2 May 1908. The WAFC Annual report of 1908 hailed Victor as a brilliant recruit from Jamestown. He was a premiership player in 1908 and 1909. The 1909 Report praised his defensive play during the Grand Final victory against Port Adelaide. Victor also played 55 games for Norwood from 1910 to 1915.
Biographical details:
He was the son of Bernard West and Jessie Louisa Stephens (nee Abbott). As part of his basic training, Victor attended the School of Musketry at Cheltenham late in May of 1916. His unit embarked from Melbourne on HMAT A38 Ulysses on 22 December, disembarking at Suez, and was sent to France on 27 March 1918. He sustained a gunshot wound to the left arm during action at Villers-Bretonneux on 14 April, and was treated at the 64th Casualty Clearing Station before being invalided to England where he was admitted to Graylingwell War Hospital at Chichester on 22 April. On 29 April Victor was transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford. His mother was advised of the incident on 14 May. After further treatment he was sent to No.3. Command Depot at Hurdcott, and was able to resume duty on 6 June 1918. Victor left England on the Pakeha on 6 October 1919 and arrived in Adelaide on 21 November. He was discharged on 10 January 1920. He died at Joslin on 3 April 1966 aged 77.
Source: NAA; B2455; Stephens V B; Barcode 1924262.
Submitted 21 October 2023 by christopher collins
Biography contributed by Tim Hanna
Victor Bernard Stephens was born at Mt. Torrens, South Australia on 9 Feb 1889. Victor established his reputation as a fine sportsman, in particular, playing Australian rules football.
A finely built athlete, Stephens started his football career in the country, where he grew up, playing for Birdwood and Gumeracha. He moved to the semi-professional South Australian Football League in 1908 when he joined the West Adelaide Football Club.
He immediately made an impact and was one of West Adelaide's best players in their 1908 Grand Final win against Norwood. He played as a half back flanker in the 1908 Champions of Australia victory against Carlton and starred in that position in the 1909 Premiership win over Port Adelaide.
In 1910, he was cleared to play with the Norwood Football Club. Named Vice-Captain in 1911, he was promoted to club captain in 1913.
A clerk in civilian life, Stephens enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 11 February 1916 and, after completing his training, embarked for Europe on HMAT A15 Port Sydney on 9 November 1917. Stephens was initially posted to the 1st Light Railway Operating Company. He was subsequently posted to the 15th (Australian) Light Railway Operating Company, Royal Engineers. Stephens was wounded in April 1918.
Victor Stephens served in Europe until he was discharged in 1920. He married Doris Jane Videon on 16 April 1921, in Henley Beach, South Australia..
Stephens continued his sporting interests after the war - football with Norwood including as a club administrator) and back to his home town of Gumeracha and cricket for the East Torrens Club.
He died on 3 April 1966, in Joslin, South Australia, Australia, at the age of 77.
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