| Fullname | Charles Brooking Hannah |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 28 September 1874 |
| Birth place | Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia |
| Death date | 14 January 1961 (aged 86) |
| Death place | Tunbridge Wells, England |
| Position | Rover / Forward |
| Otheroccupation | Missionary |
| Statsend | 1897 |
| Years 1 | 1897 |
| Games goals 1 | 14 (0) |
Charles Brooking 'Brook' Hannah (28 September 1874 – 14 January 1961) was an Australian rules footballer turned missionary who played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL; formerly Victorian Football Association [VFA]).[1]
Life and career
Brook Hannah was born on 28 September 1874 to William Hannah and Polly Lewis. His family home "Llanellan", was named after a township in Wales. It was said that his father became estranged from the family and supposedly sailed to New Zealand.[2]
He studied law at the University of Melbourne before his debut for the "Maroons" against Carlton on 15 July 1893. He is accredited with at least 37 VFA games and a further 14 for Carlton in the VFL, and was considered one of the best players afield.[2] Carlton captain Jimmy Aitken said that "Brook Hannah defeated Collingwood's Pannam pointless and had worked over Geelong's McCallum in a similar fashion two weeks earlier."[3]
After retiring from playing football, Hannah joined the China Inland Mission as an ordained missionary, and served as an assistant superintendent to Bishop Mowll of the Anglican Diocese of Szechwan.[2] He survived the attacks on foreign Christian missionaries during the Boxer Rebellion. He later worked in Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania). Hannah served as a missionary for over 50 years before retiring to Tunbridge Wells in England with his wife, May, an English-born missionary, where he died on 14 January 1961.[2]
Personal life
Brook Hannah met his future wife May, also a missionary, in China. The couple married around 1904. They had three sons, Emmanuel David and John, both died in infancy.[2]
See also
Notes
- ^ Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2009). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897. 8th ed. Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 341. ISBN 978-1-921496-00-4.
- ^ Bolfo, Tony De (14 August 2014). "God's Footballer". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "Brook Hannah". blueseum.org. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
External links
- Brook Hannah's profile at Blueseum