CONNOR, Eden Dennis
| Service Number: | 4783 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Woodville, South Australia, Australia, 17 August 1887 |
| Home Town: | Woodville, Charles Sturt, South Australia |
| Schooling: | St. Peters College, Adelaide, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 19 July 1916, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hackney St Peter's College Fallen Honour Board, Roseworthy Agricultural College Roll of Honour, V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial, Woodville Saint Margaret's Anglican Church Lych Gate |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, Depot Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4783, 5th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4783, 5th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4783, 59th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4783 awm_unit: 59th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-19 |
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"THE LATE PRIVATE E. D. CONNOR.
Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Connor, of "Silver-acre," Woodville, have received notice that their youngest son, Private E. D. Connor, aged 29, has been killed in France. He enlisted in Victoria in November, 1915. He left Alexandria on June 22 for France, and his last letter was dated July 9, from France. He was educated at St. Peter's College, Adelaide." - from the Adelaide Chronicle 23 Sep 1916 (nla.gov.au)
From the book Fallen Saints
Eden Dennis Connor of Melbourne Victoria was born in Adelaide in 1887 and after leaving school worked in Melbourne as a clerical officer.
He enlisted in early November 1915 and was stationed at 24 Depot Battalion, Royal Park, Victoria where he joined the 15th quota of reinforcements for the 5th Battalion; he sailed from Melbourne aboard HMAT Wiltshire on 7 March. After disembarking at Suez the 15th quota was held in transit at 2nd Training Battalion, Tel-el-Kebir Barracks then joined the 59th Battalion at ‘Duntroon Plateau’ on 20 April.
The 59th Battalion was formed in Egypt during February 1916 and with the 57th, 58th, and 60th Battalions formed the 15th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division. About half the battalion was made up of seasoned veterans from the 7th Battalion and the remainder, like Private Connor were fresh from Australia.
Private Connor embarked for France with the main body aboard HMT Kinfuans Castle and after reaching Marseilles near the end of June received gas training before moving to the relatively quiet Nursery Sector near Armentières.
On 19 July, the 59th Battalion was in the first wave of the attack at Fromelles and by the following morning had suffered almost 700 casualties. Among the casualties was Private Connor of B Company who just a day short of completing three months service in the battalion was killed in action; he was 29 years of age.
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