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| Full name | Ronald Rankin | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 November 1914 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Majors Creek, NSW, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 7 August 1991 (aged 76) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Canberra, ACT, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 73.5 kg (162 lb) | ||||||||||||||||
| School | Hurlstone Agricultural High School | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Farmer / Teacher | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Squadron Leader Ronald Rankin, DFC & Bar (3 November 1914 — 7 August 1991) was an Australian fighter ace in World War II and a rugby union international of the 1930s.[1][2]
Biography
Born in Majors Creek, a Southern Tablelands village outside Braidwood, Rankin was the second of four children and received his education in Sydney at Hurlstone Agricultural High School.[3]
Rankin, a strong tackling fullback, was appointed Drummoyne captain in his second season of first-grade in 1935. He gained seven Test caps for the Wallabies, first selected as 21-year old for the 1936 tour of New Zealand, where he debuted against the All Blacks at Athletic Park, Wellington. Capped for the final time in 1938, he was later part of the 1939–40 tour of Britain and Ireland, which was abandoned two days after the team arrived due to the war.[3]
During the war, Rankin was attached to the No. 236 Squadron RAF in England, flying Blenheims on missions and reconnaissance. He later flew Beaufighters over north Africa while stationed in Egypt with the No. 227 Squadron. By the time he completed his tour in January 1943, Rankin had shot down at least five enemy aircraft and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.[4] After returning home, he was honoured by Belgium with the Croix de guerre, then joined the No. 30 Squadron RAAF for bombing and strafing missions over the Netherlands East Indies and New Guinea.[5]
Rankin was a farmer in Braidwood and a Canberra teacher in his post war life.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "Rugby International Hero of R.A.A.F." The Daily Mirror. 8 February 1943. p. 2 (War News Edition) – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "ANZAC Day: How sport shaped the lives of our war heroes". The Roar. 24 April 2022.
- 1 2 "Ronald Rankin". classicwallabies.com.au.
- ↑ "Rankin Gains D.F.C. In Egypt". The Daily Mirror. 6 January 1943. p. 1 (War News Edition) – via National Library of Australia.
- 1 2 Moremon, John. "Ronald (Ron) Rankin (1914–1991)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.