In August 1914 Doug Vance scored a long-range clincher as the Cities club of Toowoomba beat Western Suburbs. Vance was a regular player during the war years, despite the relative dearth of official competition in the city.
He belatedly enlisted in March 1917, serving in France with the 9th Battalion in April the next year. Vance was awarded the Military Medal for actions in October 1918, reportedly a personal decoration from General Birdwood, head of the British Fifth Army at the time. He would not speak of how he won the honour when he returned to Toowoomba in September 1919, but reports in the Darling Downs Gazette and Toowoomba Chronicle suggested it was awarded for taking part in a night raid against the German line.
Vance’s name was added to the Toowoomba British Football Association honour board in May 1918.