Jack Berlinsky was one of the finest all-round WA sportsmen who served in the AIF in World War 1. Unfortunately, he was also a terrible husband and father.
Born in Whitechapel, London in October 1892, he was the tenth and final child of Israel Berlinsky and Clara van Praag. In 1896 Jack’s father passed away and with the family in a desperate situation he was sent to the Jewish orphanage in Norwood in the south of London. By 1911, at the age of 19, he was back living in Whitechapel and in 1914 decided to migrate to Perth like his elder brother, Mark.
Jack Berlinsky arrived in the port of Fremantle on 21 July, 1914. Within a month of his arrival, Jack was turning out for Thistle. “Berlinski, a new man, was very good, and had many pretty touches; he was quite in his element in fact,” reported The Truth on his debut match. By 1915 he was one of Thistle’s best players with numerous mentions of his “capital” play in the local press. They also reported that Berlinsky tried to enlist in late June 1915 but had been passed unfit due to a hitherto undiscovered varicose vein. This did not prevent him from playing out the season where he represented Thistle in fine style to their Premiership win on the last day of the season, 11 September, 1915.
In May 1916, Berlinsky had better luck with the recruiters and enlisted in the AIF at the rank of Private. On 29 December, 1916, Private Berlinsky left for the Western Front on the Persic and was in trouble even before he disembarked in England. Charged with “frequenting prohibited areas, consorting with the coloured women”, he was sent to the ship’s brig for seven days as punishment. Private Berlinsky survived the Western Front and a bout of influenza in 1918 before finally embarking in November 1919 on his return to Perth.
On 23 February, 1920, Jack Berlinsky wed Hylda at the Perth Synagogue. It was a very unhappy marriage for Hylda, marked by cruelty and neglect to her and their three children. In 1930 she was successful in being granted a divorce from Jack Berlinsky. During her testimony the Perth Divorce Court heard how newly arrived Hylda, from London, had to pay for the wedding expenses as Jack was in no position to pay due to his gambling losses.
Jack Berlinksy’s gambling habit got him into trouble with the law on a number of occasions, where he even spent a brief spell in Fremantle Gaol. His ineptness at marriage was diametrically opposed to his prowess at football and even more so in cricket. He won the double with Perth City for 1922 football season and went on to represent a number of clubs in the Perth competition through the 1920s. The last club he turned out for was the Jewish club Maccabeans between 1931 and 1934.
As a wicketkeeper, Berlinsky was regarded as one of the finest in state and in the mid 1920s represented West Perth in the A Grade Competition. He kept playing well into his 40s for the interstate Jewish team and in the RSL League. Even in his 50s he was still playing in Veterans matches. His cricketing pursuits came to an end at the age of 56 on 9 January 1949 when he was stuck on the head by cricket ball.
Jack Berlinksy died in Perth on 20 February 1958 at the of 65.