Cecil McVilly
Cecil Leventhorpe McVilly (3 August 1889 – 4 November 1964) was an Australian rower who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
McVilly was born on in Hobart, Tasmania, the son of Joseph Henry McVilly, a newspaper editor, and his wife Marion Jane Thompson, née Smith. He was educated at Queen's College, Hobart. He was a sculler and won the Australian sculling championship in 1910 and 1911.[1] In 1912, he participated in the single sculls rowing for Australasia at the 1912 Summer Olympics, but he was disqualified for interference in his first heat.[2] He won the Diamond Challenge Sculls beating E Pink at Henley Royal Regatta in 1913.[3] He was Australian sculling champion again in 1914.
McVilly served with the Derwent Infantry for four years, becoming a sergeant. In World War I he was commissioned as second lieutenant into the Australian Imperial Force on 9 December 1915 and was posted to 'B' Company, 40th Battalion. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 May 1916 and in July went to England for training. He went to France on 23 November 1916 and was promoted to captain in December. At the beginning of 1917, he was training raiding parties at the Ecole Professionale, Armentières. He led 'B' Company, 40th Battalion at the Battle of Messines on 6 and 7 June and was awarded the Military Cross for leadership under intensive enemy bombardment. He was badly wounded during the Third Battle of Ypres, at Broodseinde on 4 October.[1]
McVilly was picked for special service in Mesopotamia and on 29 January 1918 set out for Basra in the Persian Gulf. He joined Dunsterforce on 28 March, and took part in the defence of Baku on the Caspian Sea in August. He was mentioned in dispatches on 21 February for special service in Mesopotamia. He returned to Australia from England in March 1919.[1]
McVilly became a captain on the reserve of officers of the Australian Military Forces. From 1919 he worked for the Repatriation Commission in Tasmania until in 1929 he was appointed inspector of charities in Victoria. He became chairman of the Victorian Hospitals and Charities Commission in 1948. After retirement, he moved to Cowes, Phillip Island, where he died at the age of 75.[1]
McVilly married Kathleen Agnes Williams in Hobart on 28 August 1915. They had twin daughters.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 McVilly, Cecil Leventhorpe (1889–1964) . Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ↑ Cecil McVilly. Sports Reference
- ↑ Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1839–1939. rowinghistory.net
