Conn, John 'Jack' Thomas (Sergeant, b.1892 - d.1963); Calmus Yvon

Collection relating to 33931 Sergeant Jack Conn, 2 Field Artillery Brigade, First World War. Collection comprises two telegrams sent by Conn to his family advising his success in bringing a French child Yvon Calmus back to Australia at the end of the First World War; and a Christmas card sent by Yvon Calmus to the Conn family and friends, c 1960s.

Ivon Calmus was the son of a French solider killed at Verdun. He was separated from his mother and sister when his village Franvillers was evacuated during the German advance in March 1918. Australian gunners from the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade found him in the ruins of his home and took him to their wagon lines. The Brigade adoped Ivon and gave him an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) uniform. With the permission of the commanding officer, Ivon spent the remainder of his time with the brigade helping at the wagon lines and working as an artillery digger. At the end of the First World War Ivon was smuggled aboard a troopship to Australia with the assitance of Lieutenant Frank Grose and Sergeant Jack Conn, who referred to the event as 'souveniring'. The two telegrams in the collection relate to this event. Ivon eventually returned to France but kept in contact with friends and family he had known in Australia.