Martin O'CONNOR

O'CONNOR, Martin

Service Number: 4259
Enlisted: 25 August 1915
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 9th Infantry Battalion
Born: Mount Morgan, Queensland, 4 October 1890
Home Town: Mount Morgan, Rockhampton, Queensland
Schooling: Mount Morgan Convent School
Occupation: Skinner (at copper works)
Died: Killed in Action, Pozières, France, 23 July 1916, aged 25 years
Cemetery: No known grave - "Known Unto God"
No known grave, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France)
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World War 1 Service

25 Aug 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4259, 9th Infantry Battalion
3 Jan 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4259, 9th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: ''
3 Jan 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4259, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane
2 Jul 1916: Wounded Private, 4259, 9th Infantry Battalion, Shell wound (left knee)
23 Jul 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4259, 9th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières

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Biography contributed by Karen O'Connor

Martin was my great uncle and I have only recently discovered him in researching my ancestry. He was the only child born to Anthony O'Connor and Ellen Murray in 1890. Anthony came from Milton, County Clare, Ireland. Anthony remarried and had nine children, including my grandmother Annie.

His father was a miner with the mines in Mt Morgan, so Martin grew up in Gordon's Lane, Walterhall, Mount Morgan with his nine half brothers and sisters. His father died in 1912 at 47 years and is buried in Mt Morgan cemetery.

Martin enlisted on 28 August, 1915. He was wounded in action on 2 July but returned to duty on 10 July. He died at the Battle of Pozieres and it took some time for confirmation of his death to be advised to the family as he was initially missing in action. However he died on the first night of the Battle of Pozieres, 23 July. A Court of Inbquiry confirmed his death in July 2017.

I believe that my father Martin O'Connor was named after him. He fought in World War II in PNG.

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