Alexander Fletcher ‘Sandy’ Acquroff was born on 29 April 1889 in Edinburgh, Midlothian. His family migrated to Brisbane in 1912, finding their way to Melbourne by 1914. He soon became Secretary of the Melbourne Thistle Football Club and along with his brother William Henry was a good contributor on the field in the years leading up to the war. William died in action at Ypres in October 1917.
Originally enlisting on 19 October 1916 as a Gunner in the Field Artillery, Sandy was discharged and subsequently transferred to Aviation Instructional Staff. Eventually embarking to Europe in September 1918, his troopship was recalled as the war had ended. Acquroff’s name crops up as a selection in the Scottish ‘international’ team in 1920 but no trace of him playing the game exists afterwards. He died on 9 April 1962 in Mentone, Victoria, at the age of 72.


