Full name Albert Otto Peters Date joined 1930 Name Bert Peters | Height/Weight 177 cm / 77 kg | |
Date of birth (1908-08-08)8 August 1908 Date of death 13 June 1944(1944-06-13) (aged 35) Place of death over the English Channel Role Australian rules footballer Died June 13, 1944, English Channel | ||
Place of birth St Arnaud, Victoria | ||
Albert Otto Peters (8 August 1908 – 13 June 1944) was an Australian rules footballer who played with North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
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Nicknamed "Snow" or "Snowy", for his very fair hair, Peters was born in St Arnaud, Victoria.
Football career
He was one of seven North Melbourne players to make their league debut in the opening round of the 1930 VFL season. By the end of the year he had played 12 games and he added another five in the 1931 season, which would be his last. In each of his 17 appearances for North Melbourne, Peters finished on the losing team. This included a 168-point loss to Richmond at Punt Road Oval. The 199 points conceded by North Melbourne in that game remained a league record until 1969.
Peters spent the rest of his football career in the Mornington Peninsula. He captain-coached Mornington Peninsula Football League club Sorrento from 1938 to 1940 and led them to the finals in each of those years, including the 1940 grand final against victors Somerville-Baxter, contrary to folklore. Before coming to Sorrento, Peters played for Dromana District in 1937,. Prior clubs were Tooradin and Wonthaggi.
Military service
Peters was working as a teacher in Red Hill, Victoria when he enlisted with the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941. He came to England in June 1943 for operational training. His first posting was to the No. 455 Squadron RAAF and then the No. 53 Squadron RAF, which were based in Cornwall.
On 13 June 1944, Peters was a navigator on board the No. 53 Squadron's B-24 Liberator BZ818/C which had been sent to the Bay of Biscay to perform an anti-submarine patrol. The plane was shot down by German submarine U-270, with all crew members killed.