CONNELLY, Patrick Michael
| Service Number: | 3276 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Abbottsford, Victoria, Australia, February 1888 |
| Home Town: | Wonthaggi, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | SW to head, Belgium - Broodseinde Ridge, 4 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3276, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3276, 8th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3276, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Adelaide | |
| 28 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3276, 8th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , Otitis media shock |
Pte Patrick (Percy) Connelly
Pte Connelly with his mate Lt/Cpl J H Dehn, X111 Platoon, 'D' Company, 8th Battalion were with Lt. J T Maguire moving up into an advanced position towards the dawn jump-off line in the attack for Broodseinde Ridge near Zonnebeke in Belgium in the early hours (between 1am - 2.26am) of 4/10/1917 when a High explosive shell hit. Pte.Connelly was killed instantaneously with a shrapnel wound to the head, Lt.Maguire was mortally wounded dying some time later in the arms of Lt. F A Teakle, 12th Battalion, and L/Corp Dehn was seriously wounded with shrapnel to the right arm. Dehn later wrote a letter informing a Miss Brown, 10 Murray St., Abbotsford, Victoria about Connelly's loss. Lt. Maguire's last words were recorded by Lt. Teakle as "Leave Me...I'm Done...Lead my Men On" and this was communicated to family and immortalised in a poem by Marion Miller Knowles published in the Maryborough & Dunolly Advertiser, 23/01/1918.
Submitted 24 March 2019 by Dennis Nelson