James Lindsay was a member of an important early soccer family in Ipswich. His father William, and uncle, also James, played for Ipswich’s original club Bundamba Rovers in 1886 and between them played for Bundamba Unions, Blackstone Rovers, Bundamba Rangers and Bush Rats through into the 1890s.
Those of Lindsay’s generation were spread between Ipswich soccer and rugby league and tracking who played what is difficult given the same forenames and initials were used by different branches of the family, as well as unrelated Lindsays. One namesake James, for instance, was a Queensland representative Rugby League player, who enlisted and was killed in action before Lindsay signed up.
James played soccer for Dinmore Bush Rats, and it was that club which farewelled him after his enlistment in September 1915. Lindsay and fellow enlistee David Neilson were honoured by the club at their yearly presentation night, as reported by the Queensland Times on 1 November 1915. Lindsay was given a gold band ring by his clubmates, but as he could not attend, it was accepted by his mother Madaline (nee Denham).
Lindsay was 21 when he enlisted. He had already amassed three years in the local militia, and four as a cadet. He was allocated to the 47th Battalion and arrived in France in mid-1916. Wounded in August, after being shot in the buttock, he was sent back to England to recover, rejoining his unit until February 1917.
This round trip would be repeated several times. He received multiple gunshot wounds in June 1917 and was again evacuated to England. A return in September only saw him shot in the hand and knee within a month and again evacuated. This latest injury kept Lindsay out of the fighting until February 1918, but his war was nearing an end. Lindsay was shot in both thighs in March 1918.
After evacuation and some recovery, Lindsay ended up in Weymouth, where Australian soldiers were sent to await return home. He arrived back in Australia five days before armistice.
Tracking Lindsay’s movements are also difficult after the war, given the size of the family and the other Lindsay families in Queensland. J. Lindsay, for instance, played for Bundamba Athletic in 1921, but it is unclear whether this is the same person. Lindsay married Catherine Hetherington in 1920, and the pair had two children. Lindsay died in November 1978, 15 years after Catherine.