John Frederick Booth

John Booth, of Ex-Students, represented Western Australia as a defender in their historic 1909 tour of NSW, Victoria and South Australia. He was a late replacement owing to the unavailabiliy another player. In 1910 he joined Australs and remained with the club until he enlisted at the start of the war. Before departing, he married Elsie May Aitken. Four months after landing at Anzac Cove, the newly promoted Sergeant Booth contracted influenza and was evacuated to Egypt. After seemingly recovering he was sent to Lemnos Island on light duties, but his health deteriorated. He was transferred to Alexandria, Egypt, where he was diagnosed with enteric fever. On 9 February 1916 he embarked for his return home to Western Australia. On 16 June 1916 he was discharged from the AIF as medically unfit. John Booth died in 1967 at the age of 80.