Robert Dennis O’CONNELL

Australian War Stories ANSWERING THE CALL When Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, as a dominion of the British Empire, Australia was also at war. The outbreak of hostilities were greeted with enthusiasm by the Australian public. Robert Dennis O’CONNELL was among the more than 330,000 Australians, including 3,000 nurses, who volunteered to serve overseas between 1914 and 1918. An extraordinary number from a population of under five million. Their wartime journeys took them to far-flung battlefields at Gallipoli, on the Western Front and in the Middle East. For the ANZACs the adventure was to become a nightmare. In the quagmire that was Belgium and Northern France – where over 295,000 Australians served – 46,000 lost their lives and over 130,000 were wounded. For those who returned to Australia, many bore the scars of their experience for the rest of their lives. 📄 Recruitment poster (Courtesy: State Library NSW) 🎞 Soldiers voices, dramatised and archival footage of the Western Front campaign (Courtesy: Sir John Monash Centre, © Commonwealth of Australia 2018)

Australian War Stories ALL SIGNED UP Robert Dennis O’CONNELL signed-up to join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Robert duly completed the AIF enlistment form – called the ‘Attestation Paper’. He confirmed his age, occupation and marital status and noted that his home was in Queensland. On the second page of the Attestation Paper he made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, Robert Dennis O’CONNELL … swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War … SO HELP ME, GOD.” Robert was assigned the AIF service number 6594 that would appear on his active service and medical records. 📄 First page of Attestation Paper, © Commonwealth of Australia (National Archives of Australia) 2019. 📷 Volunteers with their Attestation Papers waiting to enlist outside Victoria Barracks recruitment office in Sydney (Courtesy: Australian War Memorial, A03406)

Australian War Stories FIT FOR ACTIVE SERVICE Like all new recruits Robert underwent a thorough medical examination. He was found to be free of a wide range of conditions that would “unfit him for the duties of a soldier”. Nor did he bear the tattooed letters D or BC, with which the British Army marked deserters and those of “bad character”. The Examining Medical Officer stated that Robert: “can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service”. 📷 Recruits undergoing their medical at Victoria Barracks, Sydney, circa 1915 (Courtesy: Australian War Memorial, A03616)

Australian War Stories TRAINING BEGINS Volunteers such as Robert were sent to training camps established at military bases, farms, parklands and sporting grounds around Australia. They were given basic military training, including the use of rifles and small arms. Robert was issued with his uniform: a khaki woollen jacket, heavy cord breeches and the famous slouch hat – turned up on the left and featuring a plain khaki band, chinstrap and “rising sun” badge. A soldier’s equipment also included a dixie (mess tin), water bottle, mug, .303 Lee-Enfield rifle and bayonet. 📷 Rifle training at Liverpool, Sydney, 1915 (Courtesy: Fairfax Photos) 📷 Western Australia recruits at the Blackboy Hill training camp near Perth in 1915 (Courtesy: Australian War Memorial, P02077)

Australian War Stories THE GREAT ADVENTURE Robert O’CONNELL departed Sydney, New South Wales on the troopship HMAT Wiltshire on 7 February 1917, when Australia had been at war for 914 days. ‘HMAT’ stood for ‘His Majesty’s Australian Transport’ and HMAT Wiltshire was one of many ships requisitioned by the government for wartime service transporting the troops, over 139,000 horses and the odd kangaroo. Robert and the other volunteers were bound for Egypt and beyond where they would make final preparations for war. Most had never ventured out of their home state and were looking forward to the “adventure of a lifetime”. Many of the troopships that departed from the eastern seaboard stopped at King George Sound in Albany, or further up the coast at Fremantle, where they took-on supplies. For some of the troops, the WA coastline would be their last view of Australia. The epic four-week voyage across the Indian Ocean to Egypt has been described as “the longest journey to war in the history of the world”. On-board, Officers organised rigorous training drills and exercise sessions for the men. They were expected to do their own washing, sweep the decks and carry out other chores. Three hearty meals a day were served; breakfast usually consisted of porridge, stew and tea. Lunch included soup, meat, vegetables and pudding. Meat, bread with jam and tea was served for dinner. Many of the troops experienced bouts of seasickness on the voyage. To alleviate boredom, sports carnivals were held with boxing matches, pillow fights and wheelbarrow races. The crossing the Equator ceremony, ‘Neptune’s Journey,’ was played-out on each troopship. 🎞 The voyage from Australia to Egypt (Courtesy: National Film & Sound Archive)

Australian War Stories ARRIVING IN EGYPT HMAT Wiltshire, with Robert and his mates on-board, arrived at Aden before sailing up the Suez Canal to Egypt – a land that had seen more armies than almost any other. It was here, in the shadow of the pyramids, that the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps would be first grouped together under the now hallowed acronym ‘ANZAC’. The Australians travelled to camps at Maadi on the Nile and Mena, situated near the pyramids of Giza. The training was arduous: marching through sand, digging and attacking trenches for eight hours a day, six days a week. From mid-1916, many of the Australian troops continued on to England where they trained at camps on the Salisbury Plains, near Stonehenge. Here they prepared for trench warfare on the Western Front, including training with new types of weapons and learning how to deal with poison gas attacks. Others completed their training in Egypt and sailed directly to Marseille, joining their units in Northern France and Belgium. 📷 Australian troops arrive at Alexandria in Egypt aboard HMAT Orvieto, December 1914 (Photo by Phillip Schuler, courtesy Australian War Memorial, PS0375) 📷 Kangaroo mascot and lines of the 4th Infantry Battalion, Mena Training Camp, Egypt (Courtesy: Australian War Memorial, C0258) 📷 Prime Minister Billy Hughes (centre) inspects Australian troops on the Salisbury Plain, England, 1916 (Alamy, 2BW2J3R)

Australian War Stories 26TH INFANTRY BATTALION Robert was a member of the 26th Infantry Battalion. A battalion is made up of roughly 1,000 men, with four battalions grouped together to form broader brigades. The 26th Battalion was raised in Queensland in April 1915 as part of the 7th Brigade. Following their arrival at Gallipoli on 12 September, the men aided in the defence of Courtney and Steele’s Posts until they were evacuated from the Peninsula in December 1915. The 26th, alongside the 28th, later led the first trench raid undertaken by Australian troops on the Western Front. The men experienced their first major battle around Pozieres and fought at Flers, The following year, they successfully captured the village of Lagnicourt, and joined in the attacks at Bullecourt, Menin Road and Broodseinde Ridge. In 1918, the 26th helped turn back the advance of the German Spring Offensive and played a formative role in the early battles of the allied counter-offensive that would later lead to Armistice. 📷 Australian infantry marching near Amiens, August 1918 (Alamy, DRHT4F) 🎞 ‘Australians in France’ 1916 (Courtesy: Australian War Memorial)

Australian War Stories SOLDIER-TOURISTS Robert and his mates were soldier-tourists: training and marching through the desert, but also finding time to take in the sights of Cairo, ride camels and climb the pyramids. Many had their own cameras and took photos of their mates at the top of the Grand Pyramid and in front of the Sphinx. Some of the Australians gained a reputation for rabble rousing and running riot in Cairo’s red light district, The Wazzir. For those soldiers who trained in England, on days off they’d go on sightseeing trips to Stonehenge, travel up to London or go to the pictures. 📷 Australian Light Horse troops in the streets of Cairo (Courtesy: Australian War Memorial, PS0463) 📷 🔎 Zoom-in to view detail of over 685 members of the 11th Infantry Battalion, taken at the Great Pyramid in January 1915. Tragically, a large number of the men were killed on the first day of the Gallipoli landings (Courtesy: State Library of Western Australia) 📷 Australian footy exhibition match held in London in 1916 to raise funds for the Red Cross (Courtesy: AFL)

Australian War Stories WE ARE HERE, TOO Robert, and just about every soldier who served overseas, experienced the care and compassion of the Australian nurses who volunteered for active service. In Egypt, the nurses were posted to the 1st Australian General Hospital, established in the grand Heliopolis Palace Hotel in Cairo, or the 2nd Australian General Hospital in Mena House, a former royal hunting lodge. During the Gallipoli Campaign, nurses served on hospital ships off the coast and in primitive hospitals on Lemnos Island. From 1916 they experienced the horrors of the Western Front, serving at Casualty Clearing Stations on the frontlines and the Australian General Hospitals at Rouen and Wimereux. As well as providing medical treatment to the wounded, the nurses offered emotional support. Many wrote poignant letters to the mothers of soldiers who had died in their care. 📷 Sister Olive Haynes from Adelaide was one of nearly 3,000 nurses who volunteered to serve overseas. 🎞 Dramatised and archival footage of nurses on the Western Front (Courtesy: Sir John Monash Centre © Commonwealth of Australia 2018).

Australian War Stories PEACE AT LAST At 11am on 11 November 1918, Germany signed the Armistice that would bring the war to an end. In cities and towns across Australia people celebrated in the streets. The headline on the front page of the Melbourne Argus read: 'The City Rejoices', and a report in The Sydney Morning Herald noted that the Inspector of Police had instructed his officers "to give reasonable latitude to persons who may be inclined to be somewhat boisterous in their peace celebrations". And so it was across the country, finally at peace after a war that had left over 60,000 Australians dead and 156,000 wounded - proportionally one of the highest casualty rates of any of the Allied countries. 📷 Returned soldiers and supporters celebrating Armistice in Sydney (Fairfax Photos) 🎞 Armistice on the Western Front - dramatised and archive footage (Courtesy: Sir John Monash Centre, © Commonwealth of Australia 2018)

Australian War Stories ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Australian War Stories and Memories gratefully acknowledge the support of News Corp Australia in honouring our first ANZACs. 📄 Enlistment and embarkation details sourced from digitised records in the public domain held at the National Archives of Australia and the Australian War Memorial. Images and/or video from the Australian War Memorial, National Archives of Australia, National Film & Sound Archive and the Sir John Monash Centre, © Commonwealth of Australia and reproduced using Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia and International 4.0 licences. Content curated and produced by Mediality Pty Ltd, © 2022. IMPORTANT NOTE: whilst every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this memorial Timeline content, including personal data, enlistment and embarkation details, on occasion primary sources contain conflicting detail and omissions. 📷 The Australian National Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre at Villers-Bretonneux, France (Courtesy: Sir John Monash Centre)