CONNELLY, Richard Peter
| Service Numbers: | 1254, 87 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 November 1914, Marrickville, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 7th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia, 1890 |
| Home Town: | Grenfell, Weddin, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Convent School Grenfell, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Egypt, 21 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt Row J, Grave No. 111. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Grenfell Great War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Nov 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 1254, 4th Infantry Brigade Train, Marrickville, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1914: | Involvement Driver, 1254, 4th Infantry Brigade Train, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Macquarie embarkation_ship_number: A39 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Dec 1914: | Embarked Driver, 1254, 4th Infantry Brigade Train, HMAT Port Macquarie, Sydney | |
| 21 Aug 1915: | Involvement Trooper, 87, 7th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 87 awm_unit: 7th Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-08-21 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
87 Trooper Richard Peter Connelly of the 7th Australian Light Horse AIF who died of wounds 21 August 1915, was age 23, born at Grenfell, New South Wales, and is buried in the Chatby War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt.
He was one of five brothers who served in the A.I.F.
1067 Private John Joseph Connelly 2nd Battalion AIF had already been killed in action defending Anzac on 2 May 1915.
The other 3 brothers, one of whom served with Richard in the 7th Light Horse at Gallipoli, all returned to Australia.
The circumstances of Richard’s death were described by 498 Corporal Bernard Herbert Moran of Grenfell NSW and of the 7th LHR Machine Gun Section.
“At the start of the charge (6 August 1915) we had a position where we used to fill the belts and keep our ammunition in the first firing line. We had a place built up of earth, dug out to a depth of about eight feet, covered by timber, wire netting, earth and bushes, so the Turkish aeroplanes could not detect us.
This position was very stuffy, so we decided to put in an air hole; but to my sorrow the Turks’ artillery landed a seventy-five right on top of our position. The result was that seven of us machine gun comrades were blown to atoms. Of this number four belonged to the 4th Light Horse. The remainder, Happy Cregg, Tom Andrews and Dick Connelly, belonged to the 7th Light Horse.
I was also knocked out with Connelly’s brother, William, but we were more fortunate than the poor fellows who were killed outright; both of us suffering only from shell shock and having our faces blackened by the explosion.”
Richard ‘Dick’ Connelly was not killed in the shell strike but was mortally wounded, and was taken on board the hospital ship 'Sicilia', on the 6 August 1915 (shrapnel wounds, right arm, back of shoulder, and left hand) and arrived in the 19th General Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt on the 12 August 1915. Sadly, he died of wounds, 21 August 1915 and was buried the next day in the Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery.
His brother, 83 William James Connelly, despite being knocked out and shell shocked by the explosion, did not report as being wounded.
William Connelly later laid a personal headstone on his brother’s grave in the Chatby War Memorial Cemetery. The father had some discussion with the Imperial War Graves Commission regarding the headstone after the war.
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