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....He was born at Camperdown, Victoria, in July 1869, was first employed by a printer at Murtoa, and moved to Melbourne around 1885; played Australian Rules football for the North Melbourne Association club, 1887-1889, and then went to Queenstown, on the west coast of Tasmania in 1898. In that year he became middleweight boxing champion of Tasmania, and half an hour later, in the same ring, he became the champion Greco-Roman wrestling champion of Tasmania. Also won sprint races at Zeehan, and played football for a Queenstown side, Flux - in a game in September, 1898, he collided with an opposing player, fell and landed on his head. Taken to the hospital insensible, he recovered consciousness the next day, but was said to be in a critical state.
....Prior to his volunteering for the 2nd Tasmanian Bushmen's Contingent, in late January 1900, Jim worked on the composing staff at the Mount Lyell Standard newspaper, and while in South Africa, he sent several letters to the Standard which appeared in the paper. He left for Hobart in the last week of February, and departed to South Africa on the Atlantian. In Bulawayo he won a boxing match - this was a return against the same opponent after they had boxed on the voyage out - and in total he won 25 of the 29 fights he had in South Africa. He was wounded in the left leg, and contracted malaria, for which he spent some time in hospital at Kimberley.
....Along with three other Queenstown volunteers, Corporal Stanworth returned home on Saturday, 22nd June, 1901.
....Post-war, he played Aussie Rules football for Essendon, being captain in 1904, then, in 1906, he returned to South Africa, where he did some training of boxers. Next he went to Broken Hill, where he played football, and then back to Tasmania, where he captained and coached Zeehan in 1908-09 and 1909-10. In 1910 he was appointed coach and captain of the North Launceston club. He also officiated as a boxing referee. In 1908 he was a resident of Zeehan, and was the lessee of the Gaiety Theatre, Launceston. Returned to Melbourne in 1912, where he trained several boxers, and played his last game of football in a charity match, in 1922, aged 52. He was still refereeing boxing matches in th late 1930s.


The Tasmanian soldiers, including Stanworth, received their South African medals in Hobart, from the Duke of Cornwall on Friday 5th July 1901. Then, on Friday 16th August 1901, the following appeared in the Hobart newspaper, The Tasmanian News -
. LOST - Pocket Book with initials J.B.S. containing South African War Medal. Finder please return to Maclaren's Hotel, Collins st. - reward, J. B. Stanworth.
.
The address above is a Queenstown one. What became of the lost medal? Was it returned to him? Is there any record of it post-1901?

He has an entry on the Australian Football website (and a very brief one on Wikipedia), which gives his birth as being on 20th July 1871, and dying at Bowden, South Australia, on 7th December 1855.
australianfootball.com/players/player/jim+stanworth/1716

Stanworth received what is known as an HMS Ophir medal, after the ship that conveyed the Royal party on their world tour. Not all the QSAs handed out from HMS Ophir were named when handed to the recipient and some of these were then privately named up.

Hi Berenice,

I though that I would add another period image for your post. 165 Private (later Corporal) James Benjamin Stanworth of the 2nd Tasmanian Bushmen's Contingent from Queenstown, Tasmania. The photo was originally printed in the "Tasmanian Mail", 3rd March 1900.
Trev

Thanks, Trev and Meurig. Australians are so fortunate that some of their newspapers included photos of so many volunteers. Far in advance of British newspapers of the same period, where few photos were printed, and we mostly have sketches of soldiers taken from photos.

I cannot see any records of his medal in recent times. I imagine many medals suffered similar fates not to mention all of the medals that met their end in the crucible.