O'Connor, Roderick
No.975 – Corporal Roderick O’Connor – 17th Battalion AIF
Roderick O’Connor was born in Dunedin New Zealand in 1881 to Charles Yelverton and Susan O’Connor. Roderick was one of several siblings and while he was still young at ten years old, the family moved to Western Australia where they took up residence in Quarry Street Fremantle. Roderick’s father, CY O’Connor was the celebrated Chief Engineer for Fremantle Harbour and also later designed the water pipe from the coast to Kalgoorlie. With his father on important work, Roderick was educated at Fremantle Grammar School and went on to study to become an Engineer.
Unfortunately tragedy beckoned for the family in 1902 as CY O’Connor rode his horse into the water on South Beach and committed suicide by shooting himself. Roderick was only 21 one years old when this occurred but he continued to follow in his father’s footsteps by working as an Engineer. This work later took him to Sydney which was where he was located when he enlisted into the AIF on March 10th 1915. The medical examiner passed him as fit and found him to be 5 feet 10 & ½ inches tall; weight of 180lbs; chest measurement of 36-38 inches; dark complexion; blue eyes and dark hair. His religious denomination was Church of England.
Roderick was sent to Liverpool Camp in NSW where he was assigned to “C” Company of the newly forming 17th Battalion AIF. He trained with them at Liverpool until early May 1915 when the Battalion received orders to go to Sydney where they would embark. On the 12th May 1915 the 17th Battalion boarded the HMAT Themistocles and then set sail for Egypt, where they arrived over a month later.
Upon arrival in Egypt the men were disembarked and sent to camp where they continued their training. By early August they were informed that they would be sent to the Dardanelles to reinforce the soldiers fighting there. On the 16th August 1915 the 17th Battalion arrived at Gallipoli and they were immediately drawn into the fighting at Hill 60 though the 17th Battalion were not as devastated by the fighting as was their sister 18th Battalion. Roderick survived his first action but was wounded in early November 1915. He was sent to the Field Ambulance but as the wound was not deemed serious he remained in hospital at Anzac for only a shoer time and returned to duty on the 12th November.
Roderick remained with the 17th Battalion for the remainder of their time at Gallipoli and in December was promoted to Corporal. After the Dardanelles was evacuated the men were returned to Lemnos Island where all the Australians congregated before returning to Egypt. On the 30th December Roderick was part of the 17th Battalion advance guard that boarded a troopship for return to Egypt, reaching Alexandria on the 3rd January 1916.
At Tel-el-Kebir Camp on the 10th January 1916 the 17th Battalion collected together at Tel-el-Kebir Camp and for the next two months the Battalion would remain in Egypt during which time they would continue their training and they would also serve in the Suez Canal Defence Line. On the 17th March 1916 the 17th Battalion arrived at Alexandria where they boarded a troopship which would take them to France.
Arriving at Marseilles on the 23rd March 1916, the 17th Battalion were disembarked and put onto trains for the journey to the north of France. They were destined for the sector around Armentieres and they would have their first time in the trenches of the Western Front near Fleurbaix. Roderick wrote to his sister Katherine, who was an artist living in Paris, that;
“We are somewhere in France at last…The rest as they called it in Egypt was fairly strenuous, plenty of drills etc and plenty of heavy sand. The weather here is very pleasant, fairly cold in the mornings and nights but nice and warm when the sun is out. The people are very nice and friendly which is very nice after seeing so much of the Egyptians. I am rather at sea when trying to talk to them but manage to make myself understood when I want to buy anything… … April 21st 1916: No Hot Cross Buns today. We are having our second spell in the firing line, but things are fairly quiet here…The spells out of the trenches are a little better here than in Egypt although we have a fair amount of fatigue work to do, but being a Corporal my part is mostly supervision…There is some talk about leave in the dim future but I do not expect to get any for some time yet. We are all picking up wonderfully over here; most of the fellows are putting on weight and getting a healthy looking colour on their faces.”
They would remain here till June and after a short stint at Messines they would be sent to the Somme battlefield. The 1st Australian Division had captured the French village of Pozieres and they were relieved by the 2nd Division, with the 17th Battalion coming into the line on July 28th.
During July and August 1917 the Battalion took part in further attacks around Pozieres and Mouquet Farm and suffered heavy casualties as a result. Roderick came through unscathed and the Battalion were then sent to Belgium but in late October 1916.
“Just a few lines before going into the trenches again. If I have as much luck as I had last time I won’t complain…We had a pretty hot time of it in the trenches last time but as long as we come out of it as well this time, no one will have much to complain about, except the very unlucky ones……”
The 17th Battalion returned to the Somme where they would spend the French winter in the vicinity of Flers. However in December Roderick was sent to the 1st Stationary Hospital at Rouen where he was diagnosed as suffering from Venereal Disease. He was transferred to the 51st General Hospital at Etaples on the 24th December 1916 so it would not have been a pleasant Christmas and New Year period suffering from that ailment. However writing to his sister Katherine, Roderick put a brave face on;
“January 3rd 1917: I am down at the base and have been in hospital for a week, but expect to be out any day now. My cold did not get any better and I got a touch of influenza but am practically alright now…The weather has been fairly cold and wet but not much snow yet. My battalion is still up at the front but should be coming back in about a week. It is still a bit hard getting over my leave but I am settling down again alright. I often think of the very nice time I had with you all, hope you had a nice Christmas. They gave us a fairly good dinner in the hospital and a present each from the Red Cross.”
On the 24th January 1917 he was transferred to the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot and rejoined the 17th Battalion on the 6th February 1917. He rejoined his unit near Flers but later that month the Germans began withdrawing to the Hindenburg Line and the 17th Battalion were among the Australian units who pressed the German retirement and they became engaged in several sharp struggles around the Outpost villages.
“We are out again for a short spell. The weather in the trenches was very fine but a bit cold in the early mornings. I was sorry for the fellows in the battalion that relieved us as it just started to rain as we went out. Evidently the cold snap is finished at last, the temperature is certainly much warmer…I am very well, got hit slightly with a large piece of shell but luckily only grazed me on the muscle of the right arm, bruised a little but quite alright. Luckily for me it did not catch me fair on. We are going in again in a few days, I hope for the last time before our long spell, but nothing of course is known yet.”
Roderick had a break from this chase of the Germans as on the 21st March 1917 he was admitted to the 7th Field Ambulance with septic abrasions, whether it was a result of the scratch he received from the shell is not recorded. He had a few weeks break but eventually rejoined the 17th Battalion on the 5th April 1917.
On the 15th April 1917 the Germans launched a surprise attack on the Australian outpost line in front of Lagnicourt and broke through the 11th and 12th Battalion sector. The 17th Battalion were neighbouring the 12th Battalion sector. This left the 17th Battalion flank in the air and they were forced to retire to stay in touch with the 12th Battalion. The 17th Battalion then counter attacked with the 19th & 20th Battalion’s and restored the position inflicting large casualties on the Germans. However the 17th Battalion also had large casualties and among the killed was Roderick O’Connor.
Unfortunately there were no eyewitness reports as to his death nor was his body knowingly recovered. Roderick is therefore commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
He was survived by his siblings, and his sister Katherine O’Connor, to whom he wrote his letters, became a celebrated artist who spent most of her life in Paris and Western Australia.
In 1919 Roderick’s mother laid a plaque in his memory in Honour Avenue Kings Park