Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

DEMPSEY. Cornelius Thomas. MBE
1888-1955

Con, as he was usually known, was born at Cudal, NSW in 1888 the seventh child of Cornelius Joseph (1854-1907) and Bridget (1855-1906) nee Slattery of King’s Plains, who had married in Orange in 1875. Con’s father Cornelius was a hotelkeeper at Cudal in that time and below is the reference to a 1890 Bankruptcy File at NSW State Records.

The Dempsey’s and Slattery’s were early convict/migrant Irish families to NSW with strong Catholic traditions. Cornelius and Bridget had 9 children. Con’s older brother Patrick became a priest and was finally Parish Priest of Rydalmere NSW. His younger brother Vaughan did not become a priest; he was sent over to Ireland to join but instead became active in the Independence Movement and ended up being a diplomat representing the Irish Government in Paris then latter joined the Department of Industry and Commerce until retirement. He married but had no children.

Con Dempsey was quiet a lad in the Orange district in the few years pre WW1; in 1912 it is reported he was involved in the Grand Masquerade Skating Carnival at the Skating Rink.
The Orange Leader of Wednesday 3rd June 1914 regarding the CWRF Union, reports the team to play Eastern Suburbs the following week lists C Dempsey and also L Dwyer who later captained Australia in Rugby Union. I have seen a Match program of the England V CWRFU at Wade Park which included C Dempsey, Con himself, identified his name in the program. Searches through NLA Trove Orange Leader have identified both C Dempsey and B Swain as regular players of Rugby Union in the years leading up to the outbreak of WW1. He was Secretary of the Wallaroo Football Club. Con was also an active member of the Wade Park Tennis Club.
In June 1914 Con was congratulated with 3 others prominent local men for the decorations for the King’s Birthday function at the Oddfellows’ Hall by the Winter Dance Club; he was the 1914 Club Secretary.
In March 1915 a farewell was assembled (included A P O’Malley) at the Royal Hotel and a presentation of a purse of sovereigns made to Con Dempsey prior to him leaving for Sydney that evening by the mail train to join the A Company now stationed at Liverpool. Mr. Casey said “he was an honorable man and one who had always done the best for his employers.” His employer was solicitors McLachlan and Murray of Orange.


He enlisted into the AIF at Liverpool, NSW on the 16th February 1915 as SERN 196. He was a nearly 26 year old Law Clerk with his older sister, (Johanna 1878), aka Cecilia Swift of Pacific Parade, Manly NSW as his next of kin, (later address as Havilah St, Chatswood.). He stated that he had no previous military experience. He was 5ft 4ins, 128lbs, 30-33ins chest, dark complexion with brown hair and eyes.
On the 8th April 1915 he was appointed to and posted as private to the “A” Company, 17th Bn. which embarked for Egypt on the 12th May 1915 arriving one month later. At Gallipoli he rapidly rose in the ranks to Staff Sgt. on the 30th October 1915. His service records do not record him at Gallipoli however the battalion was withdrawn from the peninsula in December 1915 along with the rest of the Allied forces after the decision was made to abandon the campaign. The Orange Leader newspaper of Monday 17 January 1916 page 3 has an extensive article from Corporal Con Dempsey, a letter, to friends in Orange, and a poem by a soldier about Con. These are under a separate heading and file.

He returned to Alexandria ex Mudros in January 1916 and proceeded to join the BEF disembarking at Marseilles on the 17th March 1916. October 1916 was a busy time for him; he was taken on strength of the 18th Bn as CSM, a week later promoted to 2/Lieut., in the field. and 10 days later sent the Army School of instruction in France as Special Duty at the 5th Bde H.Q.

In March 1917 he was accidently wounded by a bayonet in the Rt hand and was moved to Hospital and convalesce in England. He never really returned to full duty but held various administrative duties in AIF Depots in England including acting Captain, Transport Officer at London’s Waterloo Station. He returned to Australia as per A29 with neurasthenia, in April 1918 and with his appointment terminated. The AIF. List 372 of 20th August 1918 records “Brought to the notice of the Secretary of State for War for valuable Service in and with connection with the War”
Lieut. C T Dempsey MBE, was issued with the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal with Oak leaves. In November 1918 he is reported in the local paper as being on furlough in Orange.

In the Orange and surrounding Districts amongst the Roman Catholic followers there were many large families, which intermarried including the Dempsey’s, Slattery’s and Martin’s. Also Con Dempsey played Rugby in the same teams with Bert Swain in the pre war years. Con Dempsey born 1888 would have known James Martin born 1887 and also Bert Swain born 1889. They all enlisted in WW1. James Lewis Martin was killed in action in France in August 1918.
My memories of Con Dempsey were those of post WW2 and his close association with the Family of John Martin and Elizabeth Coombs (my grand parents). Con also always referred to my Granny Martin as “Mumma”. My mother always referred of him as a cousin; which was not strictly true. He was a distant relation through the marriages of her brother, Roy Victor, to his cousin Mary Ellen Irene Dempsey. Also my grand parents raised one of the orphaned children (Rose) of John’s younger brother Gregory Thomas Martin, the Dempsey’s another, Monica and the Noonan’s another, Nell.

After the War, the AIF in Melbourne and London could not find an address to where send his MBE but it was finally sent to his nok, Mrs. C Swift, Wattle St; Haberfield NSW in August 1919.
In September 1920 he identified himself with a postal address recorded as “Rothbury”, Hill St. Orange and by April 1921 it was “Boree” Borenore, NSW. He never returned to his Legal studies.

I believed, but the examination of these records by Catherine Frendo in November 2014 highlight the real tragedy on the post was life on C T Dempsey (see Hyperlink below and NSW State records). Catherine Frendo reports “ I went to the archives and had a look at the two files for Cornelius. After over 90 pages which can be found in these two files, Cornelius did not get a penny from the Soldier Settlement Scheme in the form of any grant, loan or advance. All that he got was the run around. Some letters refer to other correspondence and forms filled in so in total there was probably a lot more paperwork. After four years he gave up. His brother (my grandfather) Timothy even tried to help as he personally knew the Lands Minister Mr Wearne. The Minister thought that Con should have got an advance for the house and even marked it urgent.
He became a jackaroo as a Student Pastoralist. He took out loans to buy the orchard which they had asked him to do and then in a another letter later because he had taken out the loans he then did not qualify. His land was very much under valued, even after all the improvements he made, so they could only offer him a small amount as a loan. So much for helping the returned soldier. It looked harder to get a loan from the scheme then it was from the normal bank system. In the meantime he was living in a wattle & daub hut with a boggy dirt floor.”

Cornelius Thomas Dempsey MBE purchased a block of 22 acres in the Towac Valley near the Orange Race Course and began an orchard, with close neighbours the Hawke’s and Swain’s on each side of Mt Pleasant. Con went back to an area he knew well and so was able to choose land he knew would work. Even so he only worked 11 acres of the land, that which was red loam on the slope and ignored the grey clay of the flat. Molong Newspapers of Sept.1936 have Con winning the AIF Trophy and place getter in the Handicap events at the Molong Golf Club Annual Tournament.

From Tony Swain, son of William Swain and Dorothy Martin, “It was strange that his orchard was on the east slope of Mt Pleasant on the Towac Rd just past the racecourse and a mile further up that lane and on the west slope of Mt Pleasant was the orchard of my father’s brothers (Uncle Jack and Uncle Bert). I very rarely went there for work or fun even though I regularly go there now to stay with Jack’s son, (my age) John Swain and when passing Con’s gate I think of going in to have a look but never have. After he died the orchard was sold to Joe Chiswell and he enlarged the dam and so demolished the small house. Joe died some time ago.
Con’s house was a small 2 bedroom cottage made of fibro, no electricity (until 1949) and had a small generator in a shed to charge 12 volt car batteries for house lighting with car headlight globes, kero stove, ice box, and no hot water unless heated from kero tins over the open fire, he drove a 1927 Dodge truck/utility on which I learned to drive when I was about 14. And in the early 1950’s he purchased an Austin A40 utility.

The photo of me was taken in Orange in 1944 wearing Uncle Con’s uniform.

As a small boy there were many visits to the Forest to see Martin family relatives and Uncle Con was mostly in the group. We often visited Slattery’s Hotel opposite the Orange Railway station, the “boss “ was a Greg Slattery and Mrs.Cis Slattery, I think it was the Great Western or Railway Hotel.
He always sat with us in the same seats at 10 o’clock Mass on Sundays and would give me a three pence coin for the plate.
I spent many weekends as a boy with him at his house especially to listen to the short wave of the cricket in England, reading the Readers Digest and Pears Cyclopedia. He must have returned to Australia after the War via the Panama Canal as he had a large illustrated book on the Canal, which enthralled me. As a teenager I would spend all my holidays at the orchard picking, packing, pruning or spraying.
I remember the site divined and the well being sunk and the difficulty in the bricking of the shaft. He had a black Clydesdale called “nigger” to work in the orchard until buying a Howard rotary hoe for the plowing. He gave me a Daily Missal when I went to boarding school in 1949 with a card for the death of his brother Rev Patrick Dempsey, Ordained 8th Dec 1914, late Parish Priest of Rydalmere who died on the 1st October 1949. When I left boarding school 3 of my friend came and camped on the orchard to be cherry pickers ‘til Xmas when they went to their homes. His sister, Cecilia, married John Swift and their daughter, Yvonne, was Mother Swift, from 1959-1972, the head of Sancta Sophia College at Sydney University. I think she was helpful in getting me a place at St Johns. His memory is etched in my brain. A very fine man, never married, well read and I know he had a great influence on me.”
To me as a teenager and Uni student he seemed a quiet, industrious and religious man who adopted new techniques in orcharding. Reflecting now, he does not fit the man of the town in the pre war years with such a promising future ahead of him. Is he a casualty of the horrors of what he saw and was honoured by others but never recovered himself? There was no support for him when he came back. His immediate family were scattered far and wide. At least he lived but not the life he should have had.
There is an “Application for Medical Sustenance” by him in Series 2487, Item 1922/3729, Date Range 1921-1922, Open Access at the ACT. This needs a visit to Canberra for further explanation. The photo is of Uncle Con, taken by me, from a larger photo taken at the new AWM, Canberra in January 1949 on the occasion of Con and Sam Eggleston taking me and Bridget Eggleston to our respective Boarding School in Sydney I was to begin boarding school at Waverley College.

He died at Concord Repatriation Hospital, aged 65, on the 20th June 1955 as a result of a brain tumour. “ I was a medical student at St Johns College, Sydney University whilst he was in Concord and did visit him on several occasions in his terminal illness”

After his death his sister searched for a will, she and Orange solicitors, T A Whitley, O’Neal and Rheinberger approached the Army for help: a reply to Mrs. J Swift, Springwood, NSW; “ no record is held of Cornelius Thomas Dempsey having executed a will while serving in the AIF”.












Researched by
Dr. Tony Swain. MB BS, FANZCA. Surg LCDR RANR Retd..
Adelaide, November 2014.

Sourses:
http://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/person/145573.
NLA Trove, Orange Leader 1912-1919 :Jan. 17th 1916.
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au, NAA: B2455, DEMPSEY C T.
NSW State Records: 26/06/1890 Bankruptcy File no 02563. issued on the 10th Jan 1893 against Cornelius Dempsey, Hotelkeeper , Cudal, NSW.
NSW State Records: Index of Closer Settlement No 3421 C T Dempsey for Smith Farm, Molong District 1920
NSW State Records: Returned Soldier Settlement Loan Files
“ID” 2171, Previous System No. "[12/7094]", Loan No. "05419", Surname, "DEMPSEY", First Name, "C T", Address, "Orange", Land District, "Orange", Start Date, "19 Aug 1920", End Date, "20 Jun 1925"
Catherine Frendo. Dempsey family researcher and descendent
Photos.
Tony Swain in Uniform of C T Dempsey taken in Orange 1944,

Hi Tony,
I went to the archives and had a look at the two files for Cornelius. After over 90 pages which can be found in these two files, Cornelius did not get a penny from the Soldier Settlement Scheme in the form of any grant, loan or advance. All that he got was the run around. Some letters refer to other correspondence and forms filled in so in total there was probably a lot more paperwork. After four years he gave up. His brother (my grandfather) Timothy even tried to help as he personally knew the Lands Minister Mr Wearne. The Minister thought that Con should have got an advance for the house and even marked it urgent.
He became a jackaroo as a Student Pastoralist. He took out loans to buy the orchard which they had asked him to do and then in a another letter later because he had taken out the loans he then did not qualify. His land was very much under valued, even after all the improvements he made, so they could only offer him a small amount as a loan. So much for helping the returned soldier. It looked harder to get a loan from the scheme then it was from the normal bank system. In the meantime he was living in a wattle & daub hut with a boggy dirt floor.

Before the war he seemed to be going out with Ethel Burns. Did you ever hear any reference to her? Was he ever engaged? Also did you hear any stories as to why he gave up law to go on the land.

Cheers for now,
Catherine









Leader (Orange NSW: 1912-1922) Monday 17 January 1916, page 3.

Just before the Evacuation.

Corporal Con Dempsey writes to Mr. W, C. Bowman, of "Melyra" and. 'Derowie," from. Gallipoli, under date of November 28. He sends greetings In the form of a neatly drawn Xmas card executed by himself, showing the outline of the Gallipoli Peninsula, with the words: "Wishing you all a merry Xmas and a happy now year, from where we are doing our bit."
Con says:


After many attempts I at last have an opportunity to write to you. It is now about 8 p.m., and 1 am burning the midnight oil not more than 300 yds. from Johnny Turk. Speaking of the Turk, I would like to say that I consider him a very fair fighter, and from my own observations, and also from information received, there is no truth in the newspaper stories about the 'Terrible Turk.' In the first few weeks of the campaign I believe he did resort to his old tricks but he got such a rough time of it that he has now decided to play the game. He is in no way antagonistic, and only for the pressure behind him I think he would throw in his lot. Unfortunately, I cannot say much about the general situation here, as the censor is fairly strict. However, you will be able to road between the lines and got a good Idea of things for yourself.
Since I arrived on the Peninsula, I have been promoted to staff sergeant, and have a fairly good time as a result. The pictures that one sees about men standing on top of trenches with a rifle and bayonet, and. also with a blood stained cloth wrapped round his head, are all rot. Fighting is carried on differently here, and no such "erotic" pictures meet you as you charge. I have not been in a charge yet, and from present indications do not expect to be; but, if the time comes, well, then, I suppose I will have to be there, willing o' not.
There is no doubt about the way things are carried out in this war. One gets a very good food and plenty of it. The only thing we are short of occasionally is water. So short of this are we sometimes that one has to save all for several days in order to have a bath. (Damp your cloth and wipe yourself). I had a bath the other day, and as a result a poem written about me, and for your amusement I enclose a copy. The principal characters are General Holmes, the Brigade Major, the Staff Captain (Haley), and the aide-de-camp- (Norman), The 'Kernel' referred to is the officer commanding, the 19th Battalion (the one Ross Douglas is in), and Lindy is his chief of Staff. I give you this information in order that you may more readily follow the aforesaid 'poem'.
The country about here would do your eyesight good, wheat fields and grazing pastures everywhere, but on the Turks' side of the line. On our side of the line one sees nothing but steep cliffs rising as it were straight up from the sea. How our boys ever effected a landing beats all understanding. It requires an abler pen than mine to even give you a faint idea of the precipitous cliffs they had to climb in order to reach their objective. Australia ought to be proud of the men who were in the first landing, for they have made a name no nation is ashamed to bear. Of course when we landed we did so in safety compared to them, and the conditions are now much more improved. In fact, my little dug out is a home from home.
With regard to the weather, well at present it is like autumn. Fine brisk mornings, beautiful sunny days and cold nights. From the migration of the birds one comes to the conclusion that winter is near at hand. The air, night and day, is full of the twittering of these birds on the move. Of course, towards the end of November we expect to get it very cold, and to have gales, etc., but, as we arc to be issued with sheepskin vests and several other articles of warm clothing I think we will be warm; at least I hope so, as this is my first European winter.
We are well supplied with news here, as we get a war telegram nearly every day, giving tlic news of the general situation. We also have a woolly press in which appeared the result of the last Melbourne Cup. You should have seen the way the boys rushed men. Some of them who you would think it was the result of an Orange election. However, things here are such that one would not think that fighting was going on just a few yards away. The men are very cheerful; and in the warm weather you could often hear a very good concert coming from some biovuac near by. To be sitting out in the night and listening to some of the singing, and I can assure you there are some very fine voices—singing the old songs one used to hear in good old sunny New South Wales, well, it makes you think of what you have given up for the good name of England. .
This is the place to find out the men. Some of the whom you would think could face the devil, simply crawl away and hide. Of course, when one first gets under fire one feels it very much, but such is the adaptability of the Australians that they make themselves comfortable in any quarters. The Gurkhas simply adore them, and call them their white brothers and the Turks have also given them the same name. If ever I have the luck to return to Australia I must certainly call on you and endeavour to give you a clearer idea of things.







Orange Leader 17th January 1916

DEMPSEY.

(An affair somewhere in Turkey.)

Wot! Bill! Ain't 'eard of Dempsey? Struth!
Garn, yer carnt pull me limb like that.
Why, 'e 'eld up the blooming brigade, Bill,
And 'e done it all off 'Is own bat.

No; 'E ain't no general; nor kernel,
Nor major, nor captain, nor sub;
Es’ the corporal darn at headquarters
An' e 'eld up the staff from 'Is' tub.

Yer can larf; but b’lime me it's dinkum
Yer can go darn and ask Captain Hale
Take yer boot off me dixie and listen,
Yer’ll larf won I tell yer the tale.

Dempsey's orderly Corporal at 'eadquarters, .
‘E knows where papers and orders should be
And if the General wants any papers
The staff sends for Dempsey you see

Yer knew Linderman, out o' th' 19th.
The cove with the silvery mo
‘E come darn from Pope's to got orders
‘Is kernel had got to know.

‘E appened to to see the general.
The general sent him along to ‘Is staff
That’s the Major, and Hale and Norman--
You can now get ready to larf.

The Major was in 'is dugout
Coughing and sneezing like ‘ell
Cursin’ the War and the Turk, Bill
Like us wen we ain't feelin' well.'




So Lindy went into the Major,
To get wot he wanted to know.
And the Major ses 'I'll send for the papers,
Sit down an' wait arf a mo.'



Then 'e coughed and sneezed and called. 'Orderly!"
And 'is voice was 'eavy. and thick
And when a bloke put ’is 'ead in the dug-out,
‘E sez 'Tell Dempsey I want 'im ere quick.'

They waited for nearly five minutes
But no word 0’ Dempsy came thro
Then the Major sneezed 'ard and called Haley,
To start 'im 'unting for Dempsey too


Haley was asleep in 'is orfice,
Dreaming of bombs and states and Turks
But 'e woke with a start an sez “Yes, sir,”
Then swore some in 'orrible jerks.

But Hale couldn't find Dempsey neither
And the kernel on Pope's made things 'iss;
'Ahem" I wonder wot's 'appened to Lindy,
'E oughter be back be this.'

And the 'ole of the staff was scouting
The Major ‘e coughed and sneezed then he swore,
When an orderly came thro' the sap,Bill
And put 'is 'ed thro' the major's door.

And he sez to the sneezin' major,
And to Lindy who was tearin' his ‘air
''Dempsey says he's awfully sorry,
But ‘e ‘s 'avin 'is bath, now, sir.'

Well, the major 'e took it calm like,
And Hale wont ter finish 'is snore
And Lindy crawled back to 'is kernel—
They were beaten and felt pretty sore

That's 'ow Dempsey hold up the Brigade, Bill,
Don't you think 'e should get the V.C. ?
Cause he done it alone, and unaided.
‘E’s a ‘ero, if "eroes there be.

And Dempsey still runs the Brigade,Bill,
There's a notice darn there signed be Hale,
'This offlce is closed up for bizness
While Dempsey gets into 'is pail.'

—By Light Duty.