Memories ... July 9

 In Remembrance

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

Today is the anniversary of the passing of two of my paternal uncles, my Uncle Tommy who passed away at the age of 61, and his brother Leo, who passed away when only 3 days old.

Both were the sons of George Thomas Connors and Grace Olive Brown (my paternal grandparents).

• Thomas Richard Connors (known as Tommy) was born on the 19th of April 1911 at McGougan's Lane in Mullumbimby, New South Wales.  This is likely the address of the family's home at the time and his was likely a home birth.

• Thomas was the third of eleven children born to George and Grace.

• At the age of 21, Thomas married Dulcie Elizabeth Charlotte Hunt, but this marriage did not last.  Together, Thomas and Dulcie had a son named Noel William, born in 1934.

• At the age of 29, Thomas enlisted with the 2nd AIF for service in World War 11.

• He served in Darwin in 1940, in the Middle East between the end of 1940 and the start of 1943, and then in New Guinea from mid 1943 to the start of 1946.

• During his time in the Middle East, Thomas was one of the famous Rats of Tobruk.

• In 1947, at the age of 36, Thomas re-married.  He and his wife Catherine Millicent Soames remained married until Thomas passed away.  Together they had four children. 

• From around 1950, Thomas's occupation was Forestry Worker and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he and his family lived at Imbil in Queensland.

• Thomas passed away in Gympie, Queensland in 1972 and is buried at the Gympie Cemetery.

I told Tommy's story last year in much more detailed blog post that included lots of information about his war service.  For those interested in following up on this, please click on this link:  The Story of Thomas Richard Connors  

Tragically, the story of Thomas's younger brother Leo is much shorter.

• Leo Connors was born on the 6th of July 1921 in Lismore, New South Wales.

• He was the seventh of eleven children born to George and Grace.

• Leo was born at the Bonnie Doon Private Hospital in Lismore, but in a tragic turn of events, he passed away on the 9th of July.

• There was an inquest held into the circumstances of his death and the resulting finding listed the cause of death as  "cardiac failure through being accidentally overlain". 

• At the time of Leo's death, his brother Thomas was only 10 years old.  I imagine it would have been very hard for Thomas to fully understand what happened to his baby brother! 

• Leo's parents (my grandparents) George and Grace would have been devastated.  George at the time was working as a butcher in Lismore and Grace was a homemaker, taking care of their six other children.  No doubt it took every ounce of their resilience and fortitude to carry on for the sake of their family.

• Their baby Leo was buried at the East Lismore General Cemetery.  He was buried in the Roman Catholic section in Row 5A, plot 12.  Heartbreakingly, his grave has remained unmarked since his burial. 

I have also previously told Leo's story in a blog post about two of George's and Grace's children who passed away in their infancy.  For those who are interest in reading more, please follow this link:  The Story of the Almost Forgotten Children of George and Grace