Ernest “Jerry” Stevenson was a Queensland representative soccer player who played for Brisbane City and Latrobe after the war. He also appeared for an AIF XI which took on the English ship Renown in 1920. The AIF team was largely made up of pre-war players who saw active service.
Stevenson, though, was one of the few players in the AIF team who cannot be seen playing before the war. His career may have been obscured by several factors. An English-native, it is unknown when Stevenson emigrated. His address on enlistment was Burringbar in Far North New South Wales. The small town briefly had a soccer team from 1914 only to see the emerging regional competition lapse due to the war. Stevenson did not appear in the only Burringbar line-up printed in the Tweed Daily, but most games lacked detailed match reports.
Similarly, whether he played in Brisbane is obscured by the fact that most teams did not receive detailed newspaper coverage other than scores. A soldier named Stevenson did play in Brisbane on 8 April 1916, for a combined Enoggera base side which took on a Brisbane selection in a charity match for a soldier who lost both eyes and an arm in a grenade training accident. The timing correlates with Ernest Stevenson’s enlistment in October 1915 and departure for Europe in June 1916. (Toowoomba player James Stevenson, the only other known Queensland player of that surname to have enlisted, had already departed for Europe earlier in the year.)
So, it is likely Stevenson was an experienced player before the war. He arrived in France in November 1916 with the 42nd Battalion, receiving a gunshot wound to the leg in July 1917 which saw him evacuated to England. He returned to France in October. Stevenson’s 1918 was interrupted by a lengthy illness, recovering in La Havre.
During his recovery, he was court martialled for entering a café against orders. As a result, he stayed a Lieutenant but losing seniority. Soon after returning to his unit, Stevenson won the Military Cross. The London Gazette of 7 November 1918 stated it was awarded:
For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. On the 8th of August 1918, during the operation on the SOMME, Lieut. E. M. Stevenson, who was acting as Battalion Scout Officer, located an enemy Machine Gun post and dugout. Immediately opportunity offered he, accompanied by 1 N.C.O., rushed the Machine Gun post and dugout, and succeeded in capturing the Gun and 2 Officers and 40 other Ranks. Lieut. Stevenson’s daring action and exemplary courage had a very inspiring effect on all personnel under his command.
Despite his bravery, Stevenson’s war ended in September. After he received a gunshot wound to the forehead. This saw a final evacuation to England. Stevenson would not return to Australia until November 1919. Stevenson joined the Returned Soldiers soccer club after his return, which renamed itself Brisbane City by 1921.
A regular goal scorer, he was often seen in reports as “Jerry” Stevenson throughout the decade, playing for City and won the Charity Cup in 1925 with Latrobe. He was first selected for Queensland on the 1920 tour of New South Wales. After being reserve for the first two interstate ties, he made his Queensland debut 2-0 loss at Wentworth Park. The Sun newspaper on 22 August reported:
The start of the front line of Queensland was E. M. Stevenson. He possesses a deal of pace, is clever in footwork, and put in some splendid shots, which brought out the best in Austen, the Blues goalkeeper, who played brilliantly.
A few days later, Stevenson scored for Queensland against an Armidale XI whilst on their way back north. It took until 1924 for Stevenson to regain his Queensland place, again touring New South Wales. Stevenson played every match as the state had mixed results, beating state champions Granville, drawing with Illawarra and losing to both Newcastle and South Maitland. New South Wales won the only official inter-state tie, 3-0. The tour coincided with Canada’s tour, which affected state selections.
Stevenson resumed his rank of Lieutenant in 1939 and was added to the Reserve Officers list but there are no details of whether he served. Stevenson went on to work in the Accounts Branch of the Labour and Industry Department and was often seen on the golf course. He died in 1953.