John Edward Rush was born in Manchester. After arriving in Adelaide he played for the Warilda, Tandanya and South Adelaide clubs from 1912 to 1914. He was not included in Harold Pearce’s list of South enlistees. A match report from 1912 when he was playing for Warilda describes an almost Gascoigne-like piece of skill when he trapped the ball, flicked it over an opponent’s head, then hit it first time on the volley towards goal. Warilda folded up at the end of that season, with their best players moving to Tandanya.
He enlisted at Oaklands on 23rd November 1914, giving his age as 33 and his occupation as “wood turner”. Rush served in both the 10th and 50th Battalions, spending some time on the 13th Brigade HQ staff in France. He suffered bouts of illness but was not wounded, and returned to Australia in December 1918.
John Edward Rush rejoined the Australian army in 1939 and served until 1947. He was stationed in Adelaide and Alice Springs, and died at Port Pirie in 1966.