TEM History

History Instalments

In the coming editions of TEMpo we will be bringing you some history of the club to give you a bit of an understanding about the club history. 

TEM & World War 1

TEM came about as a result of a 1971 merger between the East Malvern and Toorak Hockey Clubs.  East Malvern Hockey Club was founded in 1905,  Toorak Hockey Club was founded much later.

With Anzac Day almost upon us we thought it appropriate to look at some of the sacrifices made by our earliest members and some of the history of the East Malvern Hockey Club.

Season 1914 was the most successful season for the East Malvern Hockey Club.  Its A Grade team won the A Grade grand final for the first time, and its B grade team finished top of the B grade ladder at the end of the home and away season.

However, in finals, East Malvern could only field nine players in its B Grade team, its members were enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force.  It lost a semi-final to Surrey Hills.

By the time of the East Malvern annual meeting, on 11 March 1915, nine of its current players had enlisted, 16 if past players were included.

The 1915 season started, but with enlistment constantly draining players away from hockey clubs in general, the Victorian Amateur Hockey Association cancelled the season on 22 July 1915, at about the half way mark,  as there were simply too few players remaining to support a competition.

In total 29 of East Malvern’s 33 players signed up to serve in the armed forces during the war. 

Sadly two members made the ultimate sacrifice and many others returned home battered, badly injured or maimed.

Sergeant Len Forster was killed in France on 1 November 1916.  He was a founding member of East Malvern when it was called the Taranaki Club in 1905.  As well as captaining our 1914 A Grade premiership team he was part of the Victorian team which won the interstate trophy in 1914.  It was said that he was the pivot on which the forwards turned.

Private J Orr died of wounds shortly after the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915.  Like Len Forster, he was a forward in the 1914 A grade premiership team.

In addition, two members of East Malvern, Lieutenants E T Bazeley and Frank Nicholls were awarded the Military Cross for gallantry.

The war ended in November 1918 and the soldiers were repatriated in 1919.

Organised club hockey and East Malvern recommenced in 1920, but not all clubs were reconstituted.  East Malvern, however, was destined never to return to its 1914 dominance.

We owe much to all those who have served, named or unnamed, who risked all and gave so much.

The material in this article was source from several newspaper articles but principally an article dated 17 January 1917 in the publication “Winner “.