The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2239A) Corporal William Quinlan O’Connor, 50th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by , the story for this day was on (2239A) Corporal William Quinlan O’Connor, 50th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2239A Corporal William Quinlan O’Connor, 50th Battalion, AIF
KIA 25 April 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal William Quinlan O’Connor.

William O’Connor, known as “Barney”, was born on 17 March 1890 to Chris and Katherine O’Connor of Tibooburra, New South Wales. His father had moved to the district from South Australia as a young man, and Barney was born while his father worked driving the coach from Wilcannia to Tibooburra. Chris O’Connor later ran the Yantara Hotel before moving to Milparinka. Barney O’Connor was sent to the Sisters of Mercy Convent School in Broken Hill, before moving to Packsaddle Station with his parents at the age of 14. Barney O’Connor went on to work as a stockman, becoming an overseer at Packsaddle and Modren stations. He was described as “an experienced bushman and a fearless horseman”, and was reportedly a well-known and “extremely popular” figure throughout the western stations of New South Wales.

Barney O’Connor enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in May 1916. Like most men enlisting from Broken Hill, he was assigned to a South Australian battalion, in his case the 50th. Following a period of training in Adelaide, O’Connor was sent for active service overseas on board the troopship Ballarat in August 1916. He had another period of training in England, and was sent to fight on the battlefields of the Western Front in December 1916.

Private O’Connor arrived on the battlefield after the vicious fighting of the Somme campaign had ended and the bitterly cold winter of 1916 and 1917 set in. He spent the following months rotating in and out of the front line with his battalion until the fighting began the following year.

On 2 April 1917 the 50th Battalion attacked the French village of Noreuil, as part of a wider effort to breach the Hindenburg Line near Bullecourt. Private O’Connor was with another five men who encountered a large party of Germans firing a machine-gun from behind a barricade. O’Connor shot the German gunner and fired on the rest of the enemy party while one of his companions, Private Jorgen Jensen, rushed the post and threatened the enemy with two bombs. The German garrison surrendered. This action contributed to Jensen receiving the Victoria Cross for his work at Noreuil. O’Connor was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for “most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty”.

O’Connor remained with his battalion throughout the heavy fighting on Messines Ridge, and in August was promoted to corporal. About six weeks later he was wounded in action, suffering shell wounds to his back and thigh. He was evacuated to England, and spent time recovering in Dartford and Weymouth before being sent to convalescent camp in Sutton Veny.

The inactivity of life in England did not suit Barney O’Connor, and in early 1918 he was fined for being absent without leave. Not long afterwards he was sent to rejoin the 50th Battalion on the Western Front.

In late March 1918 the Germans launched a major offensive and the 50th Battalion was deployed to defend positions south of the River Ancre. It helped defend against the largest German attack against Australian Forces at Dernancourt in early April before being moved to Villers-Bretonneux.

This was the last village before the railhead at Amiens, and had fallen into German hands during the offensive. During the night of 24 April 1918, a force including the 50th Battalion, launched an attack to recapture Villers-Bretonneux. After a desperate fight, the Germans were ejected, and the town was back in allied hands.

The 50th Battalion, a central part of the recapture of Villers-Bretonneux, suffered a significant number of casualties in the process.. Little is known of the manner of Corporal Barney O’Connor’s death, although South Australian newspapers reported it came “while leading his men in a brilliantly successful attack”. His body was lost in the vicious fighting, and today he is commemorated on the Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. He was 27 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Corporal William Quinlan O’Connor, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section