O'CONNOR, James Donald
| Service Number: | 359 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 August 1914, Enlisted in Sydney. |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, August 1880 |
| Home Town: | Glenbrook, Blue Mountains Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Track Worker |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 9 April 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Beaumetz Cross Roads Cemetery, Beaumetz-les-Cambrai |
| Memorials: | Bulli Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 359, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted in Sydney. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 359, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 359, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 25 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 359, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Shell shock. Admitted to Australian General Hospital at Rouen. Then to adjacent convalescent camp. Rejoined Battalion in Belgium on 14th September. | |
| 9 Apr 1917: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 359, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 359 awm_unit: 3 Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-04-09 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
James O'CONNOR, (Service Number 359) was known as John In railway records. He was born in Sydney about August 1880.
James O’Connor was a blacksmith who worked in the Permanent Way (track) with the railways., His address at the time of enlistment was Helensburgh where his father was also working on the railway as his address is given as ‘Deviation Works, Otford. James O’Connor claimed on his enlistment papers to have been apprenticed to his father for seven years, (and James O’Connor was still only 24). The two men were living at the same address.
He enlisted at Sydney on 21st August 1914 and left Australia on 20th October 1914 aboard HMAT ‘Euripides’ for Egypt. He embarked ‘Derfflinger’ on 5th April to join the British Expeditionary Force, On that ship and on that date, he would have been part of the Gallipoli landings on Anzac Day. In July he was disciplined and forfeited two days’ pay for conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline. On 9th August he was evacuated to Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos with dysentery and admitted to No. 2 Stationary Hospital. He returned to Egypt after the general evacuation in December.
His sister, in 1967 applying for a Gallipoli Medallion, advanced the opinion that he was one of the last 12 men to leave Gallipoli at the final evacuation. In Egypt he was promoted to Lance Corporal and embarked at Alexandria on 22nd March 1916 for passage to France and the Western Front through Marseilles, where he passed on 28th March. He was wounded in action on 25th July and admitted to the No. 1 Australian General Hospital at Rouen with shell shock. After treatment there, and at the adjacent convalescent camp, he re-joined the Battalion in Belgium on 14th September.
He was killed in action in France on 9th April 1917. His younger brother Daniel was killed two days later.
Among many witness statements, M Ryan (3371) reported:
‘Near Hermes, shot through head crossing a machine gun pit. Was with adjutant of Battalion a time. Was buried at Hermies and saw him dead and also his grave, but cross had not come for it. Came from Glembrook (sic) N.S.Wales. Was in Railways.’
James O’Connor is buried in the Beaumetz Cross Roads British Cemetery, 5¾ miles east of Bapaume, though there has been an exhumation and re-interment to reach this situation.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.