The Darling Downs Gazette gave much praise to Albert Hazell when he enlisted in April 1918. Hazell was over 40, married and was a prominent member of the Toowoomba soccer community. The Gazette held him up as an example to others who had no such responsibilities and had not enlisted. A month later the Toowoomba British Football Association added Hazell’s name to their honour board and hosted a farewell dinner before he headed to camp. The Toowoomba Chronicle, in covering the dinner, stated Hazell had played for Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United before moving to Australia.
He had arrived in Toowoomba at the start of the decade and was soon regularly refereeing games. Hazell also held prominent positions in both the Toowoomba British Football and the Referees associations. While Hazell’s contribution to the sport earned such praise on his departure, his military career never got started. During his final examination, the military medical board ultimately declared he was unfit to serve, and he returned to Toowoomba.
Hazell instead became a member of the local Repatriation Society to assist returned soldiers and was again seen refereeing football. In July 1918, he resigned his position as a cutter in a tailoring firm to open his own tailoring business. He ran the business for over a year before selling it to Frank Murdoch, a local soccer player who had recently returned from war.
The Hazell family left for Melbourne in 1920 where Albert died on 28 May 1947.