One of the earliest soccer casualties reported in an Australian newspaper was Francis Bird Carter. On 5 May 1915 Perth’s The Daily News reported, “Major Francis Bird Carter was born in 1875, and was therefore 40 years of age. He was, previous to the outbreak of war, a major in the 86th infantry Battalion having been appointed to that position just after the outbreak of war. He joined the Expeditionary Forces a month later, and on October 1 was appointed to the 16th Battalion (reinforcements), with the rank of honorary major. Major Carter as a civilian was a well-known figure in Perth business circles, having been at one time a member of the firm of Ford, Rhodes, and Carter, public accountants. Later on he started in business on his own account, and his office was situated in Forrest Chambers, St. George’s Terrace. Major Carter some years ago married Miss Gwen Elliott, and his widow and young family mourn his loss.”
After arriving from England in 1900, he had worked in Kalgoorlie managing the goldfields business for his accountancy firm. He was a well known soccer figure, having played for Perth for a few seasons from 1904. Major Bird landed with his company at Gallipoli on the afternoon of 25 April 1915. He was killed in action two days later.