Vayro William Wilson - The Vayro Ancestry
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Vayro William Wilson
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VAYRO WILLIAM WILSON
This particular Vayro is a complete mystery, and living Vayro descendants in Australia cannot place him directly in their ancestry. n this case the VAYRO is used as a Christian name alongside WILLAM, and his surname is WILSON.
Details discovered on ESPN website show the following :-
Born January 18 th, 1912 in Gympie, Queensland (Toowoomba shown on DSC records)
Death April 2 nd 1962, Perth, Western Australia, aged 50 years and 74 days
Wilson played as a Prop in the Australian Universities Rugby Team.
Elsewhere a death report says his mother was SELINA WILSON, but a birth certificate has not been traced so name of Father is unknown. It could be pure coincidence that Vayro was part of his Baptism, but in 1912 JAMES VAYRO and his family were the only Vayros known to be in Australia, having arrived in 1909 aboard the SS Perthshire. (Described elsewhere on another page that deals with Australia)
A possibility is that Selina was a servant in the Vayro household, and Vayro William Wilson is the illegitimate son of JAMES VAYRO, the Great Great Grandfather of IAN ROSS VAYRO in Queensland. But I would not want to cast aspersions on the good character of JAMES, whose son WILLIAM would be only 12 in 1912. It is quite possible that there is a completely innocent reason why both the Vayro and William were used for the Baptism of Selina Wilson’s son.
It is well documented that Vayro was apparently a special person, a competent sportsman, and for great courage won the Distinguished Service Cross in World War Two. The Cairn’s Post January 16 th 1929 had an article for Brisbane that Vayro William Wilson received a Scholarship to Teachers’ Training College on Thursday 17 January 1929. He would be 17 years old at that time.
Vayro William Wilson was named in British Navy List at :-
Another site worth visiting is as follows:-
VAYRO WILLIAM WILSON
The National Library of Australia has a "Trove" link that works well https://nla.gov.au/ and by typing Vayro Wilson, or Vay Wilson, or Vayro William Wilson in their search engine, there is a selection of information reported at various times in his life.
The Brisbane Telegraph Queensland, Friday 28 th April 1939
SECOND EDITION Friday 28 th April 1939 Page 3
High Honour for Vayro Wilson, Winner of Carnegie Education Fellowship
POPULAR RUGBY UNION CAPTAIN Vayro William Wilson, captain of the University's Rugby Union team, who also is potential captain of the Australian Rugby Union team which will tour the British Isles and probably. Canada this year has been awarded a Carnegie Education Fellowship. This announcement, which was made by the Chancellor, Sir James Blair, at the ceremony of conferring of degrees this afternoon, was cheered by the packed audience in the City Hall.
Mr. Wilson is the first graduate of Queensland to receive this award. Only two Fellowships are available annually to Australia. He is a school teacher on the staff of the Industrial High School. Despite the handicap of being an evening student he did an honours course in mental and moral philosophy and recently proceeded to the degree of Master of Arts.
Added to this he has also completed in one year the requirements for the Diploma in Education. The Master of Arts degree and the Diploma of Education were conferred on him this afternoon. His sporting ability is well known and his qualities of leadership won him the captaincy of Australia in the three tests against New Zealand last year (1938).
The Brisbane Telegraph, Queensland Tuesday 4 th June 1940
Sub-Lieutenant Vayro Wilson
LONDON, June 3. 1940 VAYRO Wilson, the Australian Rugby Union captain has been commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer 1 Re- N service. He is interrupting his course for a doctorate of philosophy at the London University.
VAYRO WILSON WINS THE D.S.C. LONDON, March 17 1941
The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales) Thursday 13 th March 1941 Page 7
Sub-Lieutenant Vayro William Wilson, R.N.V.R., an Australian, has been awarded the D.S.C. "for courage and enterprise in action against enemy submarines." Wilson was captain of the Australian Rugby team whose 1939 English tour was interrupted by the war. After the outbreak of the war, he studied at London University. He gained a commission in the R.N.V.R. last May.
D.S.C. FOR AUSTRALIAN. LONDON
Townsville Daily Bulletin, Queensland, Thursday 13 March 1941 p 4
March 12. An Australian Sub-Lieutenant, Vayro William Wilson, R.N.V.R., has been awarded the D.S.C. for courage and enterprise in action against enemy submarines. Sub-Lieutenant Wilson was captain of the Australian rugby team whose 1939 English tour was interrupted by WW2. After the outbreak he studied at London University and gained a commission In the Royal Naval Voluntary Reserve last May (1940)
BRISBANE, March 12 Sub-Lieutenant Wilson who has been awarded the D.S.C., captained the Australian Rugby Union team which went to England in 1939, but did not play a match owing to the outbreak oft the war. He remained to study at London University, but interrupted his course to study for a commission In the R.N.V.R. He gained the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees at Queensland University. He was born at Toowoomba, but spent his schooldays at Gympie, He commenced his international football career in1937, when he captained Queensland against South Africa. He also led Australia in all three Tests against New Zealand in 1938
KING DECORATES BRISBANE MAN
The Courier-Mail, Brisbane, Queensland, Friday 15 May 1942 p 2
LONDON, May 14 The King decorated Lieutenant Vayro Wilson, R.N.V.R.. of Brisbane, with the Distinguished Service Cross at an investiture at Buckingham Palace. Lieutenant Wilson captained the Australian Rugby Union team which went to England In 1939. When war broke out he joined the navy. Others decorated at the time were Squadron Leader John Nettleton, leader of one of the Augsburg raid formations, received the Victoria Cross. Corporal Vivian Hollowday received the George Cross for amazing courage and initiative in rescuing crews from two burning planes, and Able Seaman William Johnston, of the merchant navy, was presented with the Polar Medal
Vayro Wilson DSC (18 January 1912 – 1962) was an Australian World War II naval combatant and a state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in three Test matches immediately prior to World War II. He was selected to captain the ill-fated 1939–40 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland which was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War Two.
Wilson was a Queenslander whose club rugby was played at the University of Queensland Rugby Club. He came to the attention of selectors when he made the Australian Universities team in 1934 and he was in the 1938 University side which won the 1938 Brisbane grade premiership. From 1935 to 1939 he was an automatic choice in the front-row for the Queensland State Team. In his debut year for Queensland he played against the New Zealand Maori but it wasn’t until 1937 that he played for his country.
He debuted internationally against the Springboks in the 1st test of 1937 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia lost 5 to 9 in a hard-fought tussle. He was the only Queenslander to retain his spot for the 2nd Test with the Wallabies again losing, this time 17 to 26. Wilson was knocked out in a brutal start to the match but he regained his consciousness and composure and returned to the match. It was said that “His dignified bearing in this match led the selectors to name him captain of the Australian team the following season against the All Blacks"
Only six Queenslanders had preceded Wilson to the Australian team captaincy when he assumed it against the All Blacks in July 1938 in the 1st Test of their tour of Australia. He led Queensland against them the following week and retained his national captaincy for the 2nd and 3rd tests. Australia lost all three games
When the trials for the 1939 British Isles touring squad were held the selectors opted for Wilson to retain the captaincy and his front-row position.
The team left Australia on the ship “Mooltan” and Wilson did an excellent job keeping the squad fit on the journey. The team docked at Southampton on the day when England declared war on Nazi Germany. After a couple of weeks spent filling sandbags to start the war effort, a pub crawl around the West Country, and a meeting with the royal family, the squad set sail for Australia having not played any games
Wilson leads team training on deck en route to England 1939.
(Source COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA)
Wilson assists Aub Hodgson with a neck strengthening exercise 1939.
(Source COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA)