Arthur Cathal O'Connor (1891 - 1916)

Born 28 Sep 1891 in Dublin, Ireland

Died 25 Jul 1916 at age 24 in Somme, Picardie, France

Biography

Arthur Cathal O'Connor was born on 28 Sep 1891 in Dublin, Ireland. He was the only son of Colonel Arthur Patrick O'Connor and his wife Alice.

By April 2nd 1911, Arthur and his parents were living at Colchester Castle in Colchester, Essex. Arthur was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge. His father was a colonel in the Army Medical Service. The family had two servants.

After graduating from Cambridge, Arthur joined the army in 1913, serving in the First Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment. Arthur was wounded in the battle of Aisne. He was made a Captain in May 1915. He was awarded a Military Cross on 3 Jun 1916; the presentation speech states "During a German attack,after a heavy bombardment and the explosion of three large mines, Captain O'Connor was buried up to his armpits in one of the mine explosions. He extricated himself and dug for nine hours until he had rescued four buried men, all of whom he got out alive, although one died subsequently."

Arthur was killed in action on the Somme on 27 Jul 1916, aged 24. He is commemorated on Thiepval Memorial, on his father's gravestone, and on the Roll of Glory in Holy Trinity Church, Guildford.

Sources

• Birth registration "Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FB6Q-1MC : 10 March 2018), BIRTHS entry for Arthur Cathal O'Connor; citing Dublin South, Oct - Dec 1891, vol. 2, p. 614, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin; FHL microfilm 101,063.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 August 2020), memorial page for Arthur Cathal O'Connor (28 Sep 1891–27 Jul 1916), Find A Grave: Memorial #153038010, citing Teddington Cemetery, Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, England ; Maintained by David Neller (contributor 47482893) .

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 August 2020), memorial page for Captain Arthur Cathal O'Connor (28 Sep 1891–27 Jul 1916), Find A Grave: Memorial #12474346, citing Thiepval Memorial, Thiepval, Departement de la Somme, Picardie, France ; Maintained by IWPP Custodial Account (contributor 48586138) .

• http://www.users.waitrose.com/~iannicholls/Holy%20Trinity%20Table.html#oconnor

• https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/806975/ARTHUR%20CATHAL%20O'CONNOR/

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWNC-12D : 24 June 2019), Arthur Cathal O Connor in household of Arthur Patrick O Connor, Colchester Castle, Colchester, Essex, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

Footnotes