Richmond’s famous yellow sash will again feature wattle flowers, to pay tribute for those that have served their country, when the Club faces Melbourne on Anzac Day Eve.

The Golden Wattle jumper draws on the deep connection that the flower has with the Australian Defence Force given its powerful symbolism throughout Australian War efforts.

During times of conflict, it became a tradition that wattle, as Australia’s floral emblem, was pressed into letters and posted to travelling soldiers to remind them of home.

The Golden Wattle will be on display as part of Richmond’s match day guernsey for a third year, building its connection with the Tiger Army.

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A key element of the PUMA-designed jumper is a poem, “Ode for the fallen” on the front of the guernsey, and a list of Richmond players and officials that died at war on the reverse.

Among these names is John Shearer, who has been added 79 years after his death overseas during the last few months of World War II.

After receiving a permit to play with Richmond in August 1943, the then 19-year-old Shearer was named in the Reserves squad for the last game of that year against Essendon.

12 days later, he set off to serve overseas and did not return.

Because Shearer never played a senior game, and his time at Tigerland was ever so brief, he had been forgotten in the Club’s records, until his service and sacrifice was uncovered recently by Club Historian, Rhett Bartlett.

_{John Garnet Shearer}

A full article on Shearer will run on richmondfc.com.au in the lead-up to the Anzac Day Eve match against Melbourne.

For more than 65,000 years, Australia’s First Peoples have also traditionally utilised the wood, pollen and sap from wattle trees for food, medicine, weapons, tools and ceremonial decoration among other things.

A percentage of proceeds from Richmond’s Anzac Day Eve jumper will go towards the RSL’s ANZAC Appeal, supporting the families of soldiers past and present.

Richmond members are reminded that to attend our Anzac Day Eve match you must secure your seat. General admission memberships must be upgraded to a reserved ticket by entering your barcode on the Ticketek website.