Joseph ‘Jock’ McQueen was born in Paisley, Scotland, and arrived in Adelaide in May 1914 as a part of a “farm apprentice” scheme.
He enlisted in the AIF on 4 March 1915 and was assigned to the 27th Battalion in Egypt. Sent to Gallipoli in October 1915 just as the heavy fighting on that front was dying down, McQueen was hospitalized with jaundice at the same time as the successful evacuation of the Peninsula. The 27th Battalion arrived in France in March 1916 and he saw action at Pozieres in August where he was wounded by a shell blast. He was said to be suffering from shell shock and was hospitalized in France. He returned to duty but after being diagnosed with trench fever and other ailments including a knee injured during a training exercise, he was sent to a hospital in England.
McQueen seems to have had a turbulent relationship with authority during his army career. He was put on charge in Egypt, France and England for absences without leave, and once for “falling out of the line of march”. In July 1918 he managed to disappear for four months, surrendering to authorities shortly after the Armistice. Court Martialed, he was sent to Lewes Prison from where he was released in mid 1919 and sent back to Australia where he was discharged from the AIF in November 1919 as medically unfit.
Andrew Howe’s Encyclopedia of Socceroos – Centenary Edition, relates how McQueen’s lengthy absence in 1918 was spent helping to rescue survivors from a mine collapse in Scotland and visiting relatives affected by the disaster.
He began his Adelaide soccer career in 1920 at the age of 26 and in just five years went from medically unfit war veteran to Socceroo. He was said to have played for the Anzac soccer team in France and England during the war – a significant achievement considering the extent of his injuries, illnesses and detentions. After turning out for South Adelaide in the early 1920s he enjoyed a successful spell with Port, winning the league with them in 1926.
In 1928 McQueen helped to establish the SA Railways club and he captained them to the Adelaide & Suburban League title in that year. First selected for the SA state team in 1924, the following year found him facing the formidable English FA side twice in three days. Described as an inside forward and occasional centre half, McQueen and his team mates were overwhelmed to the tune of 10-0 after the state team lost their goal keeper to injury in the first half at Adelaide Oval. Just three days later he lined up with four other South Australians in an Australian XI against the same opponents. Australia made a better showing than the state team and lost 4-1, although he was criticized for “not making the most of his opportunities”.
In a sad postscript to his playing career, Jock McQueen lost his left eye in a pub brawl in 1929, but still managed to play a few more games after he recovered. He died in Adelaide in 1964.