Essendon star Kyle Langford opens up about his WWII digger grandfather ahead of Anzac Day
Bombers star Kyle Langford talks about his World War II grandfather who was ‘blown up by a bomb’ in PNG: ‘I’ll think about him during the Last Post’
- Kyle Langford says he will be thinking of his great-grandfather on Anzac Day
- Ernie Farrah served for Australia in Papa New Guinea during World War II
- Daily Mail Australia provides the latest international sports news
Kyle Langford says he’ll be thinking of his great-grandfather during the Last Post on Essendon’s Anzac Day clash with Collingwood as the attacker opened up about his personal connection to the big occasion.
Langford, 26, revealed on Friday that his great-grandfather, Ernie Farrah, served in Australia and described some of the trials he had to endure. including ‘getting blown up by a bomb’.
‘My great-grandfather served in Papua New Guinea during World War II. That’s definitely something when I’m there on the Last Post, I think about him a little bit,” Langford shared AFL 360.
“I never met him, but I heard stories from my father and grandparents. That’s just something for me to think about.
“Over the past week, I’ve done some more research into it. As far as I know, he contracted malaria while he was there in Papua New Guinea.
Kyle Langford has revealed that he will be thinking about his great grandfather on Anzac Day
“He was also blown up by a bomb and he had shrapnel. He was sent back to the medical tent, and as far as I know, he managed to sneak out and go straight back to the fray.
“I think he was in the 2nd/8th Battalion, so he was a corporal.”
Farrah also played football for Victoria Brewery’s team, winning a premiership in the 1930s prior to the war.
Langford are confident Essendon can beat their rivals on Tuesday, with both sides in rampant form and in the top four ahead of the game.
Ernie Farrah served for Australia in Papa New Guinea during World War II
He also played football for Victoria Brewery and won a premiership with the team
Around 90,000 fans are expected to flock to the MCG, with Essendon making a remarkable turnaround from 1-4 last year to 4-1 this campaign.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves at all,” Langford said. We understand that last year we played against four teams that did not play in a final, with all due respect to them.
“We beat Melbourne, we now have Collingwood and next month we have Geelong, Brisbane and Port Adelaide.
“Although we are 4-1 and playing very good football, we understand that we have a very big month ahead of us.”