Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

It has taken a while to discover that J & O Riley on the Wooroolin WW1 honour board are in fact Joseph and Owen “Reilly” the brothers of Mrs Florence Connell. It was a search on the AIF Project website by address as Wooroolin that finally linked Joseph Riley, SN 461, to Mrs Connell whose husband served during WW1 and is also listed on the Wooroolin WW1 honour board.
The photo of Joseph Reilly (Rilley) was found in the photographic memorial to the Wooroolin Volunteers during WW1 titles “For King and Country - Wooroolin Volunteers 1914 – 1916”. This amazingly wonderful memorial was in display at the Wooroolin Memorial Hall at the 2023 Anzac Day Service. 
Joseph, Owen & Florence Reilly were born in Gympie, the children of Joseph & Mary Reilly. Their mother died in 1896 when Joseph, the eldest was 12 years old. Their father was an Engine Driver and by 1908 he was living in the Chillago area where he married Catherine/Kathleen.
Nothing is known about Joseph, Owen & Florence until 1911 when Florence married William Connell at Kingaroy and lived at Wooroolin where her children went to school. Joseph Reilly is listed on the 1913 electoral as living at Wooroolin - occupation labourer. Owen Reilly was living at North Arm in 1913.
Both of these young men were affected by “gassing” whilst in France. This led me to researching “gassing” during WW1. An article by the National Library of Medicine states: The first large-scale use of a traditional weapon of mass destruction (chemical, biological, or nuclear) involved the successful deployment of chemical weapons during World War I (1914–1918). In April 1915, members of a special unit of the German Army opened the valves on more than 6000 steel cylinders arrayed in trenches along their defensive perimeter at Ypres, Belgium. The British promptly developed a primitive gas mask that a soldier described as “piece of muslin, which we tied round the nose and mouth and around the backs of our heads,” but these were largely ineffective. Once chlorine was identified as the chemical agent, a thiosulfatelaced cotton pad effectively neutralized the gas.
As with the rifle drill that anchors infantry training, the discipline and skills needed to quickly and effectively don protective gear became a necessary part of life for all at the front.
Joseph Reilly was born 14 Dec 1884 at Gympie. He enlisted in the Australian Army on 9 Apr 1915 giving his sister Mrs W Connell as next of kin. He was At Sea when he enlisted and his occupation was Electrician. He was assigned to the 26th Battalion and iis unit embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on 24 May 1915.
Joseph served in the Gallipoli Peninsular, Belgium and France. He was transferred to the 7th Field Ambulance whilst in Gallipoli. His records show that he suffered from Rheumatism, was gassed in June 1918 whilst in France and accidently fell over tent rope fracturing his ribs. Synovitis boils were also reported in his file which is common in people who have some form of inflammatory arthritis.
I am sure the gassing affected Joseph in his life at home. He returned to Wooroolin in 1918 and lived there until the late 1930’s which is the same time as his sister Florence Connell and her family moved to the Eidsvold district. He was living at Cooktown when he enlisted in the 15th Garrison Battalion (Qld) on 17 Oct 1939.
Garrison Battalions were part of the Australian 'Army Reserve' within the CMF Militia structure for Homeland Defence with the role of manning fixed defences and vulnerable points. The personnel were Class B men, those between 48 and 55 who had seen war service before September 1939, therefore mostly WW1 veterans
At the end of WW11 Joseph moved to the Eidsvold area with his sister and her family. He died in 1951 and is buried at Monto Cemetery.
Owen Reilly was born in Gympie on 1 Sep 1886 and married Ada Ward on 18 Mar 1911. Owen and Ada and their 2 children Joseph and Florence lived at North Arm when he enlisted in the Australian Army on 8 Sep 1916 giving his wife Ada as NOK. His records state that he was a Blacksmith and had been apprenticed to his father for 5 years.
Owen was assigned to 4th Pioneer Battalion, Reinforcement 7 and his Unit embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on board HMAT A55 Kyarra on 17 November 1916. The ship stopped at Freemantle and when he departed Owen was AWOL. He was reassigned to 27th Battalion, 18th Reinforcement and his unit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A35 Berrima on 23 December 1916. It was interesting to discover that Owen’s brother in law William Connell was also onboard the Kyarra but he continued on to England,
While serving in Belgium in Oct 1917 Owen was also hospitalised after a Gas Shell attack. Then he suffered a gunshot wound whilst serving in France during Aug 1918. Owen was returned to England where he was hospitalised at Oprington. He was eventually discharged from hospital in Feb 1919 and returned to Qld on board the Marathon in Apr 1919.
Owen died in 1934, just 47 years of age. It is the newspaper article on the inquest of his death that I learnt that Owen had lost a leg during his service! The Telegraph 5 March 1934 reported:
"THIS IS THE END" Returned Soldier Liftman's Death
This is the end. Good-bye ! That is what Mrs. Reilly, of Longueval Street, Annerley, heard her husband say when she found him sitting on the back steps of his home, in his night attire at 4 o'clock one morning. Mrs. Reilly told the story of her husband's sudden death when the City Coroner (Mr. J. J. Leahy) today held an inquest into the death of Owen Eugene Reilly, 45, lift attendant, at Longueval Street, Annerley, on February 6. Ada Reilly, widow of the deceased, said that he continually complained of his chest since he returned from the war where he lost his right leg, and was gassed. After leaving the Enoggera Military Hospital in 1920, he was employed as a lift attendant at the Courier building. On the night of his death the deceased had gone to bed at 10 p.m. apparently in good health. About 4 o'clock in the morning witness, who occupied a different room heard him call from the rear of the house. Witness found him sitting on the back steps in his night attire. He seemed to be suffocating, and said, "This is the end. Good-bye. He passed away immediately. Witness called her son, Joseph, who was 20 years of age, and sent for a doctor who pronounced life extinct. The deceased's life was not insured; he had been in receipt of a military pension. Constable H. C. Fuge also gave evidence and said that death was due to natural causes. The inquest was closed.
Owen was buried at Toowong Cemetery.
Lest We Forget