Ernest Toovey

Who was Ernest Toovey?

Ernest Albert Toovey MBE, OAM was an Australian cricketer and baseball player. In cricket, Toovey was a left-handed batsman who bowled slow left-arm orthodox. He was born at Warwick, Queensland.

Toovey served in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II, enlisting for service when he was seventeen. He served during the war aboard HMAS Perth, where he was present during the Battle of the Java Sea and was also aboard the ship during its sinking at the Battle of Sunda Strait in February 1942. Half of the ships crew were lost, while the remainder who survived, including Ordinary seaman Toovey, were captured by the Japanese and spent the remainder of the war in Prisoner of War camps. While imprisoned, he reportedly resisted recommendations to have his leg amputated because of an ulcer, telling his captors "You can't take my leg off because I've got to play cricket for Queensland." His time as a prisoner saw Toovey put to work as part of the forced labour constructing the Thai-Burma Railway.