FatherWilliam Patrick O'Connell b. 30 Aug 1865, d. 13 Jun 1952
MotherMary Elizabeth Milovitch b. 10 Sep 1867, d. 23 Jan 1919
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

Thomas O'Connell was born on 13 January 1896 in Trentham, Victoria. 
He died on 16 February 1979 in Stacey's Bridge, Victoria, at age 83.1,2 
ChartsMilovitch, Thomas, descendant chart
O'Connell, Michael, descendant chart

Story

Thomas was the second of six children to reach adulthood.

When Tom was a toddler, the family moved from Trentham where he was born, to Shepparton.

He attended St Brendan's primary school in Shepparton.

When he was about six, the family moved to Mooroopna.3
 
Nellie and Annie attended Mooroopna Primary School, and it is possible the four older boys attended for a time also.4,5
 
For most of the six children's childhood and early adult years, they lived at the back of the Mooroopna wine shop on the main road just west of the Mooroopna hospital.5
 
Tom has been described as a tiny man, small and fair like an Irishman.6
 
Tom O'Connell, c. 1915
Image: Val Williams
First World War Service
Private Thomas O'Connell, service number 756, enlisted in May 1917 in Seymour. On enlistment he was 21 years and 4 months old, 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) tall and weighed 154 lbs (70 kg). He also stated he had served three years in the infantry, so would have been a senior cadet.7
 
Tom & William O'Connell, c. 1917
Image: Margaret O'Connell
Tom O'Connell, 1917
Image: Val Williams
Tom O'Connell, c. 1917
Image: Margaret O'Connell
Tom trained at the Machine Gun Depot in Seymour. In August 1917, he was AWL for three days though the case was dismissed. The following month he was AWL from Bendigo for one day and was fined 10/-.

In November, he embarked on HMAT Indarra in Melbourne, travelling through the Suez Canal, including on Christmas day, to Port Said on the Mediterranean. Two weeks later he went via HMT Kashgar to Taranto in Italy, where he spent a week in hospital with influenza. He arrived in Southampton, England in early February for training, and here suffered another bout of influenza.7
 
In June 1918, Tom was fighting in France with the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion. In August he received a gunshot wound to the right arm and was sent to England for recovery. The family was notified that he was wounded and later when he was in hospital.7,8
Image: Shepparton Advertiser
Tom spent three months in England while recovering and preparing for return to France. In November he was AWL for a day while at the Parkhouse training depot. This was 19 November 1918, a week after Germany signed an armistice. He rejoined his battalion in France in early December and it was June before he returned to England in preparation for the return home.

Tom disembarked from the Ulysses on 2 September 1919 and was formally discharged on 25 September. He received the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory medal.7,9
 
The people of Mooroopna presented their returning soldiers with a medallion.
Medallion from the people of Mooroopna presented to Tom O'Connell on his return from the Great War, 1919
Mother Mary's Illness
In 1918, Mary became quite ill.
 
As the holder of the wine licence, being unable to work would have made it difficult for the family.

Added to this, the First World War had been going for four years, and the two eldest sons, Peter and Thomas, were on active service.
 
Mary made a will on 11 September 1918, appointing husband William as sole executor.

To son William, she leaves the piano (this is not her mother's Bord piano, but one she purchased from her own savings). To daughter Nellie (Mary Ellen), she leaves the sewing machine. To husband William, she leaves the balance including the wine licence and interest in the Elizabeth St property held jointly with her sister, Annie Fortin.

Mary also gives William the right to draw money for their sons Peter and Thomas while they are serving abroad.10,11
 
Mary died in Mooroopna hospital after a long illness and is buried in Mooroopna cemetery. She was 51 and left behind a husband and six children of which the youngest, Annie, was 12.12,13
 
A family photo was taken at the back of the wine shop, a couple of years after Mary died.
O'Connells: back: Will/Billy, Mick, Tom, Peter; front: Annie, William (snr), Nell (Mary Ellen); c. 1922
Image: Val Williams
Mooroopna Brass Band
After the war, band activities resumed with the welcoming home of soldiers from the front in Europe. Players and committee included Tom O'Connell.14
Mooroopna brass band, 1920s
Image: Mooroopna to 1988
Football
Peter, Tom and Mick played football for their local Mooroopna team.

In 1921 Mick was vice captain and played alongside his brother Tom. The following year, Mick's responsibilities included 'collector', member of the executive committee and pre-competition coach.15,16,17
Image: Mooroopna Football Club
Image: Mooroopna Football Club
Mooroopna Fire Brigade
Peter and Tom O'Connell were Mooroopna Fire Brigade volunteers in the early 1920s. In an Honour Board unveiled in January 1920, Tom is listed as a member and Peter is listed as an ex-member.18
 
Work
On enlistment in May 1917, Tom was a grocer's assistant. On electoral rolls between 1921 and 1924, he is a shop assistant.

In electoral rolls from 1936-1977, Tom is a labourer in Gelliondale near Yarram in Gippsland.7,19,20,21
 
Tom lost contact with the family for many years. In the early 1970s, niece Elaine Dalton and the family heard he may be working and living at a pub near Yarram. She went there with husband Ken and their four children and 'were treated almost like royalty'. They stayed in contact and years later went to his funeral.6
 
Tom O'Connell died in February 1979 in Staceys Bridge, near Yarram. He was 83 years old.2,22
 

Citations

  1. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Thomas O'Connell entry, death registration no. 8666, 19679.
  2. [S56] Margaret O'Leary, personal communication, 9 July 1996.
  3. [S165] History of St Brendan's Primary School 1891-1991, St Brendan's Centenary History Committee, 1991, p. 67.
  4. [S201] 'Coming of age', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 5 December 1924, p. 2, viewed 11 March 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174035075
  5. [S21] Lorraine Phillips, personal communication, 28 August 2012.
  6. [S140] Elaine Dalton, personal communication, 13 September 2018.
  7. [S510] 'Thomas O'Connell', B2455 First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, control symbol: O'Connell Thomas, service record, 25 May 1917, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/…
  8. [S201] 'Our heroes: Gunner T O'Connell', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 2 September 1918, p. 2, viewed 25 February 2019, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91143563
  9. [S246] 'World War I', Wikipedia, online, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 26 February 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
  10. [S81] 'Mary Elizabeth O'Connell', VPRS 7591 Wills, 163/157, will, 11 September 1918.
  11. [S430] 'Mary Elizabeth O'Connell', VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files, no. 163/157, probate, 1919.
  12. [S220] 'Deaths: O'Connell', The Argus, 1848-1957, newspaper, Argus Office, 24 January 1919, p. 1, viewed 4 October 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1421945
  13. [S440] Mary O'Connell, death registration no. 3219, 23 January 1919.
  14. [S164] Mooroopna to 1988, 1989, p. 232.
  15. [S201] 'Football: Mooroopna v. Shepparton', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 2 Jun 1921, p. 3, viewed 9 OCtober 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174156831
  16. [S201] 'Mooroopna: Football club', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 6 Apr 1922, p. 5, viewed 9 OCtober 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/179181583
  17. [S201] 'Football thrills: Mooroopna win', Shepparton Advertiser, 1914-1953, newspaper, Thomas Pettit and William Callender, 18 September 1924, p. 11, viewed 15 September 2017, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/174033872
  18. [S295] Ever Ready Ever Willing: Mooroopna fire brigade 1892-1992, Mooroopna Fire Brigade, 1992, p. 21 & p. 81.
  19. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, division of Echuca, subdivision of Mooroopna, 1921.
  20. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, Commonwealth division of Echuca, Victorian division of Rodney, subdivision of Mooroopna, 1924.
  21. [S392] Australia, Electoral Rolls 1903-1980, online, Commonwealth division of Gippsland, Victorian division of Gippsland South, subdivision of Yarram Yarram, 1936.
  22. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Thomas O'Connell entry, death registration no. 8666, 1979.