Yelverton John O'Connell (1915 - 2006)

Born 29 Apr 1915 in Pingelly, Western Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Died 7 Oct 2006 at age 91 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia

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Biography

Yelverton was born on the 29 April 1915 in the Town of Pingelly, in the Wheatbelt Region, of Western Australia, Australia. He was the son of Yelverton O'Connell and Eliza Dowsett.^[1].

On the 11 December 1940, at the Recruit Reception Depot, inClaremont, City of Perth, Western Australia, Yelverton enlisted in the Australian Military Forces. At the time, he was nearly 26 years old and worked as a Farm Hand at the farm in the Town of Dwarda, Western Australia. Yelverton was given the service number of WX9908, the rank of Private and attached to the General Reinforcement, Australian Imperial Forces. After training, on the 6 June 1941, he was promoted to Acting Corporal and embarked from the Port of Fremantle on the 5 July 1941, bound for the Middle East.

However, on the 16 October 1942, he was evacuated back to England due to having fractured ribs. He returned to the Middle East and, on the 1 February 1943, embarked from there, bound for the Port of Fremantle, arriving there on the 18 February 1943. Yelverton spent a few months there before being transferred to Cairns aboard the "Allen" on the 3 August 1943, before disembarking at Milne Bay on the 6 August 1943. On the 3 December 1943, he was appointed Lance Corporal and then to Corporal on the 23 September 1944. Several months later, on the 28 March 1945, he embarked from Cairns aboard the vessel "Van Heutz" bound for the Indoneasian Island of Morotai. United States and Australian forces landed on the southwest corner of Morotai, a small island in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), which the Allies needed as a base to support the liberation of the Philippines later that year. The invading forces greatly outnumbered the island's Japanese defenders and secured their objectives in two weeks^[2].

However, he was wounded in action, having sustained a gunshot wound to the Lumbar Region and left chest, on the 23 May 1945 and evacuated back to Australia via the "Manunda". At the time of his discharge, he was described as being 5 feet 11 and a half inches tall, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair and having a small scar on the outer side of his right calf. His discharge took place on the 7 May 1946 at Irwin Barracks, Samichon Road, in Karrakatta, City of Perth, Western Australia, at the age of 30 years and 6 months old. He served in the following places:--Middle East (18 months); New Guinea (7 months) and Tarakan, Moratai (4 months)^[3].

Yelverton John married Jennifer "Jenny" May Lawrie in 1952 in the Port Town of Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia. By 1954, Yelverton John and Jenny May lived at Avondale, West Pingelly, near the Town of Pingelly, 158 kilometres (98 mi) from the capital City of Perth, in the Wheatbelt Region, of Western Australia. Yelverton had taken his hand to farming^[4]. By 1972, the couple lived at 53 Queen Street, Pingelly, Western Australia and John had given up farming, working as a Salesman instead^[5].

Yelverton John passed away on the 7 October 2006 in the City of Perth, Western Australia, Australia, at the age of 91. His Cremation took place around the 9 October 2006 at the Niche Wall, Lance Howard Memorial Gardens, Wall 9, Position 63 of the Karrakatta Cemetery and Crematorium, Railway Parade, Karrakatta, City of Perth, Western Australia^[6][7].

Sources

1. ↑ Western Australia Department of Justice Births, Deaths and Marriages. Registration: 400068/1915; Name: Yelverton John O'Connell; Parents: Yelverton William O'CONNELL & Eliza Ellen DOWSCETT; Place of Birth: Pingelly; Registration District: Beverley; Year of Birth: 1915; accessed 8 Feb 2024
2. ↑ Battle of Morotai : Wikipedia; Record Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Morotai
3. ↑ Records Search : National Archives of Australia (NAA) Canberra; Yelverton John O'Connell; Contents Range: 1939 - 1948; Series number: B883; Control symbol: WX9908; Item ID: 6456934; Pages 1 to 21; Record Link: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6456934
4. ↑ Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 : Ausralian Electoral Commission (AEC) Canberra & Ancestry.com Operations; Reference: Yelverton John & Jenny May O'Connell; Division: Canning; Sub Division: Beverley; Record Numbers: 2801 (Jenny May) & 2804 (Yelverton John); Page: 38
5. ↑ Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 : Ausralian Electoral Commission (AEC) Canberra & Ancestry.com Operations; Reference: Yelverton John & Jenny May O'Connell; Division: Canning; Sub Division: Beverley; Record Numbers: 2736 (Jenny May) & 2737 (Yelverton John); Page: 14
6. ↑ Find a Loved One : Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (MCB) Karrakatta; Reference: (Cremation Year-2006); Yelverton O'Connell; Record Link: https://portal.mcb.wa.gov.au/name-search/ns-detail/?id=4e62fcda-9e1d-ec11-b6e7-00224814c3d1
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/213566028/yelverton-o'connell: accessed February 22, 2024), memorial page for Yelverton O'Connell (1915–7 Oct 2006), Find a Grave Memorial ID 213566028, citing Karrakatta Cemetery and Crematorium, Karrakatta, Nedlands City, Western Australia, Australia; Maintained by ! woowoo (contributor 49949980)