MCCONNELL, John Reginald
| Service Number: | 2355 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 1st Australian Reserve Park |
| Born: | Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 30 September 1956, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Rookwood Cemeteries & Crematorium, New South Wales |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2355, 1st Australian Reserve Park | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement 2355, 1st Australian Reserve Park, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Armadale embarkation_ship_number: A26 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked 2355, 1st Australian Reserve Park, HMAT Armadale, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
John Reginald McConnell - 2355
John Reginald McConnell was born to his father Henry Thomas ‘Harrie’ McConnel and mother Mary Ada Kennedy, in Ashfield, NSW in 1895.(1) He grew up as a Roman Catholic and only child alongside his mother and father on Marrickville Road, Dulwich Hill.(2) McConnell showed an interest in technology and mechanics, and was successful in his application to attend Sydney Technical High School.(3) However, due to certain circumstances, he had incredibly poor attendance, and thus was unable to complete his school work, eventually leaving at the age of 17 in 1912.(4) During this time, McConnell was working as a store clerk, up until he decided to enlist to the Australian Imperial Force for World War 1 in 1914.(5)
On 17th September 1914, John Reginald McConnell enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force at the age of 19.(6) Like most Australians at the time, he likely thought of the war as something exciting and worthy of glory. He joined the 1st Australian Reserve Supply Park, Company 10, as a Driver and was promoted to Lance Corporal for the journey to Europe, embarking to Alexandria, Egypt, on board the HMAT A26 Armadale on the 20th October 1914, leaving behind both his father, Harrie, and his mother, Mary.(7)
Once McConnell arrived, he travelled to the training camp at Cairo, in Egypt, where he trained in weapon proficiency and military discipline.(8) McConnell trained for many months, during which he reverted to the rank of Driver 6th February 1915.(9)
His training lasted until 7th August 1915, where he embarked toward Dardanelles, Turkey on board the H.T. Cameronian.(10) McConnell and the rest of Company 10 bravely assisted in the Dardanelles Campaign, carrying essential supplies, such as food and equipment, to the soldiers fighting in the Dardanelles Campaign.
The Dardanelles Campaign’s intended goal was to wipe out the Ottoman Empire to undermine Germany and assist their weakest partner, Russia.(11) According to many soldiers and suppliers alike, life on this warfront was not enjoyable at all. They claimed it was “awfully hot” and were getting “eaten up by millions of flies”, and many people said they would “give anything to get away from this continual banging.”(13) Luckily, He managed to retreat back to Egypt without any records of major injuries from the battlefield.
Once McConnell arrived back in Egypt, he travelled to Heliopolis. On 1st March 1916, as he was staying in Heliopolis, he changed units, from Company 10 to Company 26, and thus changed to the 4th division train of the Army Service Corps.(14)
On 1st June 1916, McConnell and the rest of Company 26 embarked on board the S.S. Haverford toward Marseilles, France, directly on the Western Front.(15) Alongside the rest of his unit, McConnell valiantly assisted on the Western Front, at Marseilles, by providing food and equipment.(16)
There are no records of any severe injuries that John endured, however, he did receive twenty-one days of Federal Punishment due to acting insolent toward a noncommissioned officer,(17) where he would have had to be handcuffed, but was still required to carry on his duty, just with less mobility. From there, McConnell continued to serve as part of the 4th division train of the Army Service Corps, supplying essentials to the soldiers. His duties ended on the 23rd September that same year, where he proceeded on leave to Australia, finally arriving back on 8th October 1918.(18)
John Reginald McConnell successfully survived World War 1 and was able to see his parents and friends he left behind for the first time in about four years. He was discharged from the Army Corps on 10th March 1919.(20)
Some time later, on 22nd September 1921, his fiance, Alice Caroline Stuart, had given birth to their first child, Maureen Alice McConnell, naming her after her mother. John McConnell then got married to Alice Stuart the following year. On 13th February 1924, they had their second child, John Douglas McConnell.
Sadly, McConnell’s father, Harrie, passed away on 10th August 1928, and it was around this time John Reginald McConnell started working as an consultant engineer, while his wife, Alice Stuart, continued to take care of the children at home. Shortly after they moved to their new residence in Marrickville in 1936, John decided to step down and continue as a regular engineer, while Alice continued to raise their children. On 19th January 1938 was when John McConnell’s mother, Mary, passed away. When John McConnell and Alice Stuart had their third child, Harrie Brian ‘Peter’ McConnell on 12th May 1938, they named him after John’s late father. After some long years of spending precious time with his family and friends, John Reginald McConnell passed away on 30th September 1956, at the age of 61.(21)
References:
1. The AIF project (no date) John Reginald McCONNELL. Available at: https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=194625.
2. ibid
3. THS 1912 more results.jpg. Available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bKS7Y_jGJwHorVLDvgHMyVH1NTqDzAMN
4. ibid
5. The AIF project, op.cit.
6. ibid
7. ibid
8. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (2023) Training Australian army recruits during World War I, Anzac Portal. Available at: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training.
9. McCONNELL03.jpg, Available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bKS7Y_jGJwHorVLDvgHMyVH1NTqDzAMN
10. McCONNELL06.jpg, op.cit., pg 06
11. A short history of the dardanelles campaign (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-short-history-of-the-dardanelles-campaign.
12. Dardanelles campaign (no date) History.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/dardanelles-campaign.
13. T.Watts, ‘Letters from the First World War, 1915’. An everlasting nightmare, 18 June 1915
14. McCONNELL06.jpg, op.cit.
15. ibid
16. 4th divisional train (no date) Virtual War Memorial | 4th Divisional Train. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/416.
17. McCONNELL06.jpg, op.cit.
18. ibid
19. Department of Defence; address=Russell Offices (2024) 1914-1915 star, Defence. Available at: https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/honours-awards/medals/imperial-awards/world-war-one/1914-1915-star.
20. McCONNELL07.jpg, op.cit.
21. McCONNELL John Reginald.docx, Available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bKS7Y_jGJwHorVLDvgHMyVH1NTqDzAMN
Bibliography:
4th divisional train (no date) Virtual War Memorial | 4th Divisional Train. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/416.
Army Service Corps. Available at: https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/OrderOfBattle/Service_Corps.html.
A short history of the dardanelles campaign (no date) Imperial War Museums. Available at: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-short-history-of-the-dardanelles-campaign.
Awm8 25/34/2 - 1 australian reserve park (10 company ASC [Army Service Corps]) - reinforcements (December 1914 - January 1916) (no date) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1379291.
Dardanelles campaign (no date) History.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/dardanelles-campaign.
Department of Defence; address=Russell Offices (2024) 1914-1915 star, Defence. Available at: https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/honours-awards/medals/imperial-awards/world-war-one/1914-1915-star.
John Reginald McConnell, b.1895 d.1956 - Ancestry® (no date) , b.1895 d.1956 - Ancestry®. Available at: https://www.ancestry.ca/genealogy/records/john-reginald-mcconnell-24-lylnln.
John Reginald McConnell (no date) John Reginald McConnell | Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1793225.
Letters from the First World War, 1915. Available at: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/education/letters-from-the-first-world-war-1915-1-dardanelles.pdf.
Research " units " General Hospital (no date) No. 1 Australian General Hospital | Through These Lines. Available at: https://throughtheselines.com.au/research/1-AGH.
The AIF project (no date) John Reginald McCONNELL. Available at: https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=194625.
The Army Service Corps in the First World War (2022) The Long, Long Trail. Available at: https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-army-service-corps-in-the-first-world-war/.
Training Australian army recruits during World War I, Anzac Portal. Available at: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training.