McConnell, Oliver Raymond (Lance Corporal, b.1917 - d.1977)

Places
Accession Number PR05705
Collection type Private Record
Record type Collection
Measurement Extent: 1 cm; Wallet/s: 1
Object type Letter
Maker McConnell, Oliver Raymond
Place made Australia, Germany, Italy
Date made 1940-1944
Access Open
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Description

Collection relating to the Second World War service of QX2411 Lance Corporal Oliver “Nobby” Raymond McConnell, 2/15 Australian Infantry Battalion, Second Australian Imperial Force, Australia, Italy and Germany, 1940-1944.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Consists of thirteen letters [including associated envelopes], thirteen postcards, and two envelopes from Lance Corporal Oliver Raymond McConnell to his sister, Mrs Ivy Myrtle Stevens (née McConnell) and brother-in-law, Mr Albert Edward 'Bert' Stevens. This correspondence was written by Lance Corporal McConnell during the period of his training in Australia, service with 2/15 Australian Infantry Battalion in Darwin, Northern Territory, and time as a prisoner of war in Italy and Germany. In his letters, Lance Corporal McConnell writes about receiving mail from home, his first impressions of Darwin, a local brawl, and being on guard duty. After becoming a prisoner of war, he writes about the weather, his health, quiet Christmas celebrations, snow ball fights, Red Cross parcels, irregular mail, and working in a sugar factory. In his correspondence, Lance Corporal McConnell also responds to news from home.
Also in the collection is 2 newspaper clippings: 'Waving goodbye' '2 Queenslanders killed' which mentions Oliver R McConnell missing believed POW, and a leaflet titled 'Australian Red Cross Society, Prisoners of War post to prisoners of war beyond the Commonwealth'.