Alfred Sandover M.B.E.

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (24 November 1866 – 4 May 1958), born in Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 he was the youngest of five children. Educated at North Adelaide Grammar School graduating in 1881, he came to Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 in 1884 arriving Fremantle

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

 when the temperature was 41^oC(106^oF) vowing to stay not a day over his contract. 1921 Sandover donated the medal

Sandover Medal

The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League...

, which bears his name for the West Australian Football League's

West Australian Football League

The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...

 annual award recognising the leagues fairest and best player of the regular season.

Personal life

Sandover was the youngest of five children of William Sandover and his wife Mary Billing née Bates. William was a Hotelier and later a politician in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. While they were on a visit to England, Alfred was born on 24 November 1866. The family returned to Adelaide on the City of Adelaide

City of Adelaide (1864)

The City of Adelaide was built in 1864 by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, and was launched on 7 May 1864. The ship was commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Carrick between 1923 and 1948 and, after decommissioning, was known as Carrick until 2001...

 arriving on 12 October 1867. Educated at North Adelaide Grammar School, in 1881 Sandover attained first class honours in the senior public examination. Contracted to his older brother William, Alfred arrived in Fremantle in 1884. On arrival due to the dust, the glare, and temperature which was 41^oC(106^oF) he vowed to stay no longer than the term of his contract demanded. Yet Sandover was to remain in Western Australia for the rest of his life.

On 11 July 1895 Sandover married Rose Allen at St. Georges Church in Malvern, Victoria

Malvern, Victoria

Malvern is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Malvern had a population of 9,422.-History:...

 and in 1896 they brought an 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) property in Claremont

Claremont, Western Australia

Claremont is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia on the north bank of the Swan River.-History:Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of water, for fishing and for catching waterfowl. In 1830, John Butler, a settler, set up an inn at Freshwater Bay to...

which they named Knutsford. In 1921 Sandover provided for the Western Australian Football league the medal for the fairest and best footballer during the regular season. The medal is awarded annually in the week before the grand final with a descendant of Sandover present for the presentation. Sandover was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) in 1951, Alfred Sandover retired in 1957 at the age of 90 and died at home on 4 May 1958.