The Story of Erice Sylvester Connors

This is the story of my paternal Grand Uncle, Erice Sylvester Connors  (1892 - 1916).

Our Common Ancestors are: Thomas Edgar Connors and Susannah (Susan) Fullagar Hukins

• Erice was born on the 24th of January 1892 at the family farm named 'Far Meadow' outside Berry, in the Shoalhaven Region of New South Wales.  The birthplace is recorded as Meroo, as that was the nearest small town to the family farm.

• He was the youngest of ten children born to Thomas Edgar Connors and Susannah (Susan) Fullagar Hukins.

• The children born before Erice were:

           - Mary Ellen born in 1874

           - John Edgar born in 1876

           -William Adolphus born in 1878

           - George Thomas (my grandfather) born in 1880

           - Alice Adelaide born in 1882

           - James Alfred born in 1884

           - Percy Jerome born in 1886

           - Cyril Ernest born in 1888

           - Frederick Augustus born in 1890

• Erice wasn't a common first name at the time, nor indeed a common family name.  I'm unsure of the reasoning for this choice by my great grandparents, given the more conventional choices for all his siblings. 

• Throughout his lifetime, Erice was mostly called 'Eric', although he was also affectionately known as 'Ted' by friends.  I suppose that was because his actual Christian name was a tad unusual and was rarely used by anyone who knew him.  

• When researching 'Erice' as a first name, I did not find many reliable sources of information.  Some say it's a female name.  Some say it's a name for males.  Some say it's a unisex name.  Some say it's of English origin.  Most don't appear to know the origin of the name at all.  It seems to be quite a rare name altogether, so I'm left dazed and very confused about why my great grandparents would choose such a name.

• I did find out that there was apparently an ancient Greek name, spelt Eryx, which was the name of an ancient Greek hero.  I doubt very much that my great grandparent had any knowledge of ancient Greek heroes. 

• Further searching revealed there is an historic town named Erice in Sicily, and it sits atop Mount Erice.  The town changed its name from Monte San Giuliano to Erice in 1934.  That would not have been known by my great grandparents., who both died before 1934, so that obviously played no part in the naming of their youngest child.

• I think the reasoning behind the name of my paternal Granduncle will remain a mystery.  His name however will live long in our family's history.

Here's his story:

• Growing up on the family dairy farm ' Far Meadow' near Berry, Erice and his siblings would have learned all the ins and outs of farm life, supporting their father with the work involved in running a dairy farm.

• Erice would have tended to all his chores before and after school, making for very long days indeed.

• Erice was an active participant in local and school events as well.  In 1906, at just 14 years of age, Erice showcased his athleticism by placing 1st in the '75 yard sack race' and the 'wheelbarrow race' during the Public Schools Carnival, held in Nowra.  He placed 2nd in the 'throwing at wicket' competition.  His name appeared as Eric in several newspapers at the time, including the Shoalhaven Telegraph (dated Oct 3 1906) and The Kiama Independent & Shoalhaven Advertiser (dated Oct 5 1906).

• Tragically in December of that same year, Erice faced the loss of his older brother William Adolphus.  William had been suffering tuberculosis for at least three years and unfortunately, he died as a result of this terrible disease when he was just a young man aged 28.

• The following year brought more sorrow to the family.  In 1907, When Erice was 15, his older brother James Alfred died as a result of burns inflicted by a fire that broke out at his workplace.  (I've written about James in this previous post:  Fire and its Tragic Consequences.  For those interested, scroll to Story 2).

• In 1910 the Connors family experiences further heartbreak.  Erice's mother Susan died in May and then his father passed away in August.  Erice had just turned 18 at the start of that year.

• By this stage, Erice found himself amidst a family that had dispersed, with most of his siblings leaving the family farm.  In the face of such personal loss and family change, Erice made his way to the north coast of New South Wales, joining his older brothers John, Cyril and Frederick (Fred) who had established themselves in the Richmond River area.  His eldest sister wasn't too far away either, as she was living in Brisbane with her husband John George Bates. 

• By 1914, Erice was living with his siter Mary Ann and her husband John George on Gotha Street in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland.  Erice was working as a bread carter.

• The spectre of World War 1 was now looming menacingly, and when England declared war on Germany, Australia was thrown into a worldwide conflict that would alter the lives of millions.

Cyril Ernest Connors, older brother of Erice
Photo taken around time of enlistment - 1914

• Erice's older brother Cyril Ernest had enlisted early, in October of 1914.

• Erice himself answered the call for duty, enlisting for the Great War on the 28th of September 1915.   He signed his attestation papers with the signature 'E. S. Connors'.  Despite the fact that his name was recorded at the top as 'Erice Sylvester Connors', when I was searching for his war service record I found it had been created under the name of 'Eric Sylvester Connors'.

(The following details of Erice's war service were sourced from his War Service Record & "Stories of the Somme: The Soldiers of the Great War", a Weebly webpage written by Micheal & Donna Fiechtner).

HMAT Wandilla
Description:  Troop Transport HMAT Wandilla (A62) preparing to sail from Pinkenba Wharf on Jan 1916 with Australian troops onboard. Relatives and friends farewell the troops from the dockside.
Copyright expired - in public domain
Sourced from the Australian War Memorial website

• Erice joined the 9th Battalion 14th Reinforcements, embarking on the HMAT Wandilla from Brisbane on the 31st of December 1915. 

Active Service Record of Erice Sylvester Connors

• His journey initially led him to Alexandria, Egypt, where the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were preparing for deployment to France.  He disembarked at Alexandria on the 5th of March 1916.

11th Field Artillery Brigade
Description:  11th Field Artillery Brigade, near Bailleul, France 1917
Copyright expired - in Public Domain
Source:  Australian War Memorial website

• On the 21st of April 1916, at Serapeum, Erice was taken on strength by the 11th Field Artillery Brigade, assigned the rank of 'gunner', and posted to the Brigade Ammunition Column. The 11th Field Artillery Brigade had only just been formed in February, and was attached to the 4th Division.  

•  Erice was then assigned to the 43rd Battery of the 11th FAB at Serapeum on the 24th of May 1916.   (Information about the 11th Field Artillery Brigade can be found here:  11th Field Artillery Brigade, 4th Division Artillery, AIF)

• On the 1st of June 1916, Erice sailed for France aboard the HMT Haverford, marking the beginning of his active service.  The ship docked in Marseilles on the 10th of June, and at 2.00 pm that afternoon Erice boarded a train for a three-day train ride to Le Havre, near Paris.

• After this train journey, the brigade arrived in a relatively quiet "nursery" sector near the town of Armentieres in northern France.  The early battalions were engaged around Armentieres first as it was regarded as a good place to prepare soldiers for future engagement on the Western Front.

• On the 17th of June 1916, Erice was transferred to the 11th Field Artillery Brigade Headquarters where he took on the role of a signaller withing the Brigade Ammunition Column.  He would have been responsible for communications within the Brigade, possibly laying signal lines between HQ and the various batteries.

• Erice was involved in major action involving Australians on the Western Front throughout the remainder of 1916.

• The Brigade first entered the line at Fleurbaix in the Fromelles sector on the 4th of July 1916 and two days later had its first taste of battle when shelled by enemy artillery for two hours.  The Brigade returned fire during the next few days.  On the 13th of July 1916 the Brigade retired to billets at Croix du Bac, but returned to its former position in the lines within a few days.

The battlefield of Fromelles
A view from the German observation post on Fromelles church that gives an idea of the complete domination the enemy had over the battlefield on 19 July 1916.
Copyright expired - in public domain
Sourced from the Australian War Memorial website

• Between the 19th and 20th of July, the Brigade supported the 5th Division AIF in its attack at Fromelles, and on the 22nd of July it was attached to the New Zealand Division and moved north to Armentieres where it stayed in the line until the 3rd of August.  (Information about the Battle of Fromelles can be found here:  Fromelles (Fleurbaix) 19/20 July 1916)

• The Brigade undertook further training until the 23rd of August 1916 when it proceeded to Dickebusch near Ypres to take over from the 6th FAB of the Canadian 2nd Division.  This area was in the vicinity of Pozieres which had been taken by AIF troops in the previous weeks.

• The 11th FAB stayed in the line until the 18th of September when it was relieved.  On the 8th of September, Erice had been invalided to the Australian Field Ambulance for a short while, as his teeth were giving him trouble.

• The next couple of months represented a similar affair for the unit, with stints in and out of the lines.  

• On the 14th of November 1916 the Brigade undertook a six day march from Boeschepe to Naours, returning to the Somme, where it would eventually be held in reserve until the 21st of December 1916.

Front line at Flers 1916

• At that time his battalion took the line just north of Flers, not far from Pozieres on The Somme.  The Germans welcomed them promptly with a heavy bombardment on the 22 of December 1916.  Shrapnel fire was sustained, and the Brigade subsequently engaged in an artillery duel with the enemy on Christmas Eve.                                                                                                      (Information about the Flers/Gueudecourt Battle can be found here:  'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt /Gueudecourt Winter of 1916/1917)

• By Boxing Day, the enemy had accurately registered its guns on the Brigade and the Australians were convinced their own gun flashes were visible to the Germans except in extremely foggy weather.

• The conditions on the Somme were horrendous, with the winter of 1916/1917 being the worst in 40 years.  In the short time Erice had been in France, he had experienced and endured the extremely harsh conditions of the Western Front, engaging in battles and facing relentless enemy fire.

• On the 28th of December 1916 an enemy airplane attacked the Brigade, firing its machine guns into the Batteries.  Two days later, on the 30th of December 1916, the Germans opened fire on the Brigade, whose positions it had ranged.  The fire around HQ was very heavy throughout both the morning and evening that day. 

• At 4.00 pm a shell hit one of the HQ dugouts that functioned as a cook house where Erice was sheltering with a number of soldiers.  Erice was killed instantly along other soldiers, including Kenneth (Ken) Taylor and John (Paddy) McGrath.  In all, 344 other Australians would be killed that month.

• The Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files have a number of records concerning Erice's death.  This suggests that enquiries were made by relatives back home in Australia, after hearing the devastating news of his death.

• It had taken some time before family and friends knew about Erice's death.  Death notices did not appear in local newspapers until February the following year.

• The Red Cross Wounded and Missing File indicated that Erice, acting as a Signaller for Brigade HQ, was sheltering in a dugout, reportedly having a cup of coffee with comrades Ken Taylor and John (Paddy) McGrath, when a 5.9 inch shell hit their location.  The explosion claimed Erice's life, along with the lives of his comrades and at least one other soldier, and left little evidence behind.  Erice's death was instantaneous.

• These files included a statement by an eye witness who assisted in the burial of what remained of the all the soldiers into one grave, with a cross erected above the grave.  There were other reports stating that the soldiers were indeed buried together.

• Burials often occurred in a field or an available clear space near where the soldiers died, but sadly these graves would often be destroyed later, as the war ravaged on.  This appears to be the case for Erice's burial place and his remains, as they have never been found. 

Erice's name on the Australian Memorial at Villers Brettoneux

Erice's name on the Wall of Honour at the Australian War Memorial

• Erice Connors, like many others, became one of the countless soldiers with no known grave.  His sacrifice is however commemorated on the Australian Memorial at Villers Brettoneux and the Roll of Honour Wall at the Australian War Memorial, a testament to a life cut short on the brutal battlegrounds of World War 1.

• Erice's name is projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial four times a year, ensuring his name lives on.  The next name projection is scheduled for Monday, May 13 at 12.54 am.