Athol Stanley Mortimer Tymms (21 February 1886 – 2 November 1949) was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Family The third son, and the eighth of the eleven children of English-born jeweller, Robert Joseph Tymms (1847–1930),Deaths: Tymms, The Age, (Saturday, 16 August 1930), p.7. and Canadian-born Anna Augusta Tymms (1849–1938), née Magee,Marriages: Tymms—Magee, The Argus, (Saturday, 23 April 1870), p.4.Deaths: Tymms, The Argus, (Saturday, 2 July August 1938), p.8. Athol Stanley Mortimer Tymms was born at Essendon, Victoria on 21 February 1886.
Marriages He married his first wife, Ethel Mary Ragg (1878–1936),Deaths: Tymms, The Argus, (Wednesday, 5 August 1936), p.1. at Sydney, on 17 December 1915;Marriages: Tymms—Ragg, The Argus, (Saturday, 1 April 1916), p.11. they had one child: Robert Dunlop Tymms (b. 30 May 1922).World War Two Nominal Roll: Flying Officer Robert Dunlop Tymms (419357), Department of Veterans' Affairs.
He married his second wife, Alison Atkins Fletcher (1904–1998), at Deniliquin, New South Wales in 1937; they had two children: the twins, Athol Mortimer Tymms, and John Mortimer Tymms, both born on 1 August 1938.Births: Tymms (nee Fletcher), The Argus, (Saturday, 6 August 1938), p.8.
Education Having been educated at Melbourne Grammar School from 1901 to 1904 where he excelled as both an athlete and a footballer'All Round', "The Athlete", The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 22 April 1905), p.14. Tymms went on to study medicine at the University of Melbourne. In 1910, he shared the prestigious Beaney Scholarship for Surgery with his fellow Old Melburnian, University Football Club team-mate, and fellow medical student, Edward Cordner.University of Melbourne: Medical Examinations: Class Lists and Scholarships, The Argus, (Friday, 30 December 1910), p.7.James Beaney; see: Death of Dr. Beaney, The Leader, (Saturday, 4 July 1891), p.36.The Will of Dr. Beaney, The Leader, (Saturday, 11 July 1891), p.42.The University of Melbourne: The Beaney Scholarships, The Age, (Thursday, 6 October 1892), p.7. He was scheduled to graduate Bachelor of Medicine (MB) on 23 December 1910; however, he did not attend the graduation ceremony.University of Melbourne: Degrees Conferred, The Argus, (Saturday, 24 December 1910), p.10; Conferring of Degrees, The Argus, (Tuesday, 27 December 1910), p.9. He graduated Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) on 2 March 1911.Degrees Conferred 1910-1: 2nd March 1911, University of Melbourne: Annual Report 1910-11, p.742. He graduated Doctor of Medicine (MD) on 5 April 1913.Doctor of Medicine, The Age, (Monday, 7 April 1913), p.11. He graduated Master of Surgery (MS) on 8 April 1916.
Football Essendon (VFL) Born in Essendon, he debuted with the Essendon Football Club in 1905, and played in three senior games.
University (VFL) After two seasons absence, he returned to the VFL with the University in 1908, the club's first season in the VFL competition, going on to play 60 games with University over six seasons (1908–1913).Holmesby & Main (2002), p.657.
Medical career After the 1913 season Tymms retired to focus on his career as a medical practitioner, and concentrate on his studies to become a specialist surgeon.
Death He died at his home in Armadale on 2 November 1949 at the age of 63.Deaths: Tymms, The Argus, (Friday, 4 November 1949), p.13.
Notes
References Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2002), The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: Every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.), Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996.
External links
Essendon Football Club profile