Stan Sismey

Stanley George Sismey (15 July 1916 – 19 June 2009) was an Australian cricketer. Sismey, who achieved the rank of Squadron Leader in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II, was the official Commanding Officer of the Australian Services XI that played England in the Victory Test series that followed VE Day in 1945. He was not, however, the on-field captain, an honour bestowed upon pre-war Test cricketer Lindsay Hassett. Sismey was the team's wicketkeeper and a middle order batsman during the five unofficial Test matches.

In 1942, Sismey was seriously wounded when the flying boat of which he was the co-pilot was attacked by fighter aircraft of the Vichy French Air Force, over the Mediterranean Sea off Algeria.

Although his cricket career was disrupted by the war, Sismey played 35 first-class matches between 1938 and 1952, mostly for New South Wales. He took 88 catches, made 18 stumpings and was a right-handed batsman with a first-class batting average of 17.68 runs per innings.

According to an obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald, Sismey was unusual amongst wicketkeepers in that he did not break any of his fingers during his 25-year career.

Personal life

Sismey was born on 15 July 1916 in Junee, New South Wales. He attended Goulburn High School in Goulburn.

In June 1945, while stationed in Scotland, Sismey met and married Sergeant Elma McLachlan (WAAF) of Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire. Their best man was Flight Lieutenant Keith Carmody, a teammate for NSW and the Services XI. Elma and Stan Sismey had two daughters.

Sismey died at Taree on 19 June 2009 at the age of 92. He was considered a contender to succeed Bert Oldfield as the wicketkeeper of the national team when the war intervened;

During the war, Sismey played for a combined Dominions XI and a RAAF XI.

Lindsay Hassett and Stan Sismey (right) walk out to bat for the Australian Services XI, against England, during 1945.

His best first-class batting performance, 78 runs, was achieved for the Australian Services XI against H. D. G. Leveson-Gower's XI at the North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough, Yorkshire in September 1945. Sismey played in the five Victory Tests of 1945, as well as two more unofficial tests in India, and other games in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Australia.

Sismey was also kept out of the NSW team by Saggers, before being re-selected during the 1949/50 season, when his keeping also earned him selection for an unofficial Australian Second XI that toured New Zealand.

He was on the board of selectors for NSW between 1958/59 and 1978/79, including 10 seasons as chairman of the board.

War service Sismey joined the RAAF on 3 February 1941 and was assigned the service number 403605. He received basic training as a pilot in Australia. Under the provisions of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (also known as the Empire Air Training Scheme), many Commonwealth aircrews during World War II received advanced training in Canada at Royal Canadian Air Force facilities and, after graduating, were posted to units of their own or other Commonwealth air force units, in various parts of the world. Sismey embarked at Sydney on 13 June 1941 and arrived in Canada on 3 July; he received advanced training at No. 7 Service Flying Training School, RCAF Station Fort Macleod, near Fort Macleod, Alberta.

The incident in which Sismey was wounded occurred on 18 May 1942, when he was the co-pilot of a Consolidated Catalina flying boat flying over the Mediterranean, off Oran, French Algeria. The Catalina (AJ158; callsign "F") was assigned to No. 202 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF), based at Gibraltar. It was attacked by three Dewoitine D.520 fighters belonging to Groupe de Chasse III/6 (GC III/6) of the Vichy French Air Force. and the crew of a Short Sunderland, commanded by Flight Lieutenant Graham Pockley, from No. 10 Squadron RAAF.