Dick Pirrie
Hawthorn
AFL career
3 games0 goals
- Debut
- R18 1940 v FIT31 Aug 1940
- Most recent
- R18 1941 v SME30 Aug 1941
Stats
Bio
Born into a significant footballing dynasty as the son of former Melbourne player Dick Pirrie Sr and the brother of future Hawk Kevin, Dick Pirrie was a speedy wingman recruited from St Patrick's College and Hawthorn CYMS. He showed glimpses of genuine talent in his three senior appearances for the Mayblooms between 1940 and 1941, but his promising career was cut short when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War. Seconded to the Royal Navy, Pirrie was assigned the perilous duty of spotting German fortifications from a small craft off Juno Beach to direct Allied naval bombardment. He was killed in action on his 24th birthday during the operation, recognised by historians as the first Australian fatality of the D-Day landings.
Profile
- Full name
- Dick M. Pirrie
- Born
- 06 June 1920
- Died
- 06 June 1944 (aged 24y 0d)
- Birthplace
- Hawthorn, VIC
- Deathplace
- Juno Beach, France
- Height
- 175 cm
- Weight
- 75 kg
Teams
Family
- Father:Dick Pirrie
- Brother:Kevin Pirrie
- Nephew:Stephen Pirrie
Bio
1 revisionBorn into a significant footballing dynasty as the son of former Melbourne player Dick Pirrie Sr and the brother of future Hawk Kevin, Dick Pirrie was a speedy wingman recruited from St Patrick's College and Hawthorn CYMS. He showed glimpses of genuine talent in his three senior appearances for the Mayblooms between 1940 and 1941, but his promising career was cut short when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War. Seconded to the Royal Navy, Pirrie was assigned the perilous duty of spotting German fortifications from a small craft off Juno Beach to direct Allied naval bombardment. He was killed in action on his 24th birthday during the operation, recognised by historians as the first Australian fatality of the D-Day landings.