Born in Casino in the northern rivers of NSW, and working as a dentist’s assistant, Gordon Knight Cumming enlisted to fight for king and country in Liverpool, south western Sydney, on 16 January 1915.
The only surviving child of Alexander & Charlotte Cumming, probably of Scottish descent, Gordon was assigned to the 4th Battalion of the AIF leaving for the battlefront only a month after enlisting. His trip to Gallipoli Peninsula was punctuated by contracting both measles and asthma aboard ship. He was discharged from a clearing hospital on 2 July, rejoining his Battalion on 8 July at Gallipoli. That same day he was killed by machine gun fire. Dead at the age of 23 not yet eight months after signing up.
The only reference to Corp Cummings playing the game exists in a report of his death by his club, Drummoyne. Drummoyne itself only came into existence in 1913 and would go on in later years to become the first club of future Socceroo goalkeepers Ken Hough and Ron Lord. As to the position our Corporal Cummings played, we will probably never know, just as we will never know just how good a footballer he may have become.