As a "Returned Man" ,and decorated veteran of the first World War, John Aidney Connah was the most unlikely individual to have found a final resting place in a WW2 Commonwealth War Grave in Gander. In fact, at age 47 he was old enough to be the father of most of the other 99 servicemen among whom he was laid to rest.
John was born in Rhyl, Flintshire, Wales on 3 May 1894, the son of Charles Connah and Mary Vernon Jessop. The family migrated to Monitor Alberta, where John attended school and worked as a farmer until at the age of 21, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in August 1915.
Posted to the Saskatchewan Regt he sailed for England on board the SS Corsican, arriving on 4 Nov. After field training the Regiment moved to France in Feb 1916, where they saw action on the Western Front.
In Sep 1916 his regiment was engaged in operations against the enemy and John was cited for bravery and awarded the Military Medal(1).In 1917 he was promoted to Cpl and employed as an instructor.
Returning to Canada at the end of the war he was discharged in March 1919 and resumed his previous work as a farmer. After ten years took two diesel engineering courses and worked in the line of work for another ten years.
John was unmarried and working as a diesel mechanic when the 2nd World War again broke out in Europe, and in Nov of 1941, enlisted again, this time in the RCAF,as an Aircraftsman 2nd Class. John spent only a short time at Manning Depot as a Basic Instructor before being reclassified as an Operator Tractor and posted to RCAF Station Torbay as a "B" group tradesman. In July of 1942 he was promoted to Leading Aircraftsman, which was still one rank lower than the rank he held in 1917.
In Oct 1942 he was sent to the International Harvester Factory in Hamilton for a tractor maintenance course, and on completion of the course reported to Halifax for transportation to Torbay. He was assigned passage on the SS Lady Rodney, and boarded the vessel on 29 Nov, for the trip to St John's.
The Lady Rodney was a 7500 ton Canadian National Steamships vessel which had been designed for the Canadian West Indies service. Requisitioned by the Navy she retained her regular civilian crew and was converted to carry 500 troops. LCol WE Sutherland headed a small detachment of Provost and Service Corps personnel which was placed on board to maintain military discipline and order in case the troops got unruly.
The trip to St John's normally took two and a half days but could stretch to a week in the case of stormy weather or ice conditions. Due to the threat of submarine attack there were "boat drills and the call for "action stations" several times a day. Twenty and 30 foot waves were often encountered during storms and the stern of the ship would come down with such force after such a wave that the passengers would be thrown out of their bunks. Frequently they did not sleep for the whole voyage. It certainly could not have been considered a "cruise" even in the best of times.
The Lady Rodney encountered one such violent storms on her trip to St John's, and over twenty servicemen sustained injuries of various natures . On 30 Nov John reported ill and was admitted to the sick bay where he died the following day. A Mr Howlett of the Salvation Army administered the last rites.. An autopsy determined the cause of death was a heart attack.
John was prepared for burial at Carnells Funeral Home in St John's and his remains were transported to Gander where they were buried with full Military Honors.
The bill submitted to the RCAF on Dec 5th 1942 read as follows.
Removed from ship to Funeral Home. Grey vicunce cloth casket, silver mounted, silk lined. Outer Case. Removing to Railway Station. Attending necessary papers and arrangements etc. $70.00
The CCWG records read as follows:
CONNAH, L.A.C. John Aidney, R/142609.M.M>
R.C.A.F. 1st December 1942. Age 48. Son of
Charles and Mary V. Connah of Edmonton, Alberta
Plot5. Row 12. Grave 25.
1. For extreme coolness and devotion
to duty. During the operations of Sep 26th 1916, Pte Connah entered one
of the enemy's dugouts and made prisoner an entire German Machine Gun Section.
His prompt action prevented the use of the gun on our troops.