Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookol. W. K. S. MacKenzie, wrote: "Your son was on my staff at the Liverpool Camp in Sydney before we left Australia and during our stay in Egypt before we came to the Front. I saw much of him and was attached to him, and I feel his loss deeply, it was a great shock to me. He was a fine soldier, and was liked by everyone in the regt. He died bravely fighting for the Empire." He was buried the same afternoon at the foot of a gully near the sea, and a cross with his name, etc., was erected by his comrades. [Illustration: =Alexander M. Oakes.=] =OAKES, ORBELL=, Capt., 2nd Battn. Yorkshire Regt., 2nd _s._ of Lieut.-Col. Orbell Henry Oakes, of Nowton Court, Bury St. Edmunds, late 1st Battn. The Worcestershire Regt., by his wife, Laura Eliza Josephine, dau. of George Clifton, formerly R.N.; _b._ Mhow, India, 7 Nov. 1880; educ. Wellington College; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Royal Garrison Regt. 28 Jan. 1903, and promoted Lieut. 2nd Yorkshire Regt. 3 Oct. 1906, and Capt. 29 Jan. 1913; served in the South African War, 1901-2; took part in the operations in the Orange River Colony, 1901-2 (Queen's medal with four clasps); was employed with the West African Frontier Force, 6 April, 1910, to 3 Aug. 1914; went to France with the Expeditionary Force, and was killed in action at Moulin du Pietre, near Neuve Chapelle, 12 March, 1915; _unm._ Buried there. The late Lieut.-Col. W. L. Alexander wrote: "He died in action on 12 March, gallantly doing his duty in a trench near the Moulin du Pietre. He was hit in the head by a bullet, and death must have been instantaneous. He had been doing splendid work with his company since he rejoined the battn., and his loss will be deeply felt by us, both as an officer and a comrade, for he had endeared himself to us all." =OAKES, RICHARD=, Stoker, 1st Class, S.S. 109616, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. =OAKLEY, GEORGE HOWARD=, A.B., 222020, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._ =O'BRIEN, HUGH CONOR HENRY=, Capt., 2nd Battn. Royal Munster Fusiliers, eldest _s._ of Henry Joseph O'Brien, of Whitepoint House, Weston, Queenstown, co. Cork, late Lieut.-Col. R.A.M.C., by his wife, Ethel, dau. of Henry Banister; _b._ Stoke Damarel, co. Devon, 19 Nov. 1880; educ. Clongowes Wood College; Stonyhurst (1896) and Royal Military College, Sandhurst (1899-1900); gazetted 2nd Lieut. Royal Munster Fusiliers, 11 Aug. 1900, and promoted Lieut. 6 March, 1903, and Capt. 1 April, 1910; served (1) in the South African War, 1899-1902; took part in the operations in the Transvaal, Jan. to July, 1901; operations in the Orange River Colony, Feb. to 31 May, 1902, and in Cape Colony, July, 1901, to 31 May, 1902 (Queen's medal with clasp); (2) on the North West Frontier, India, 1908, as Brigade Signalling Officer, attd. 3rd Brigade, during operations in the Mohmand country (medal with clasp); and (3) with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, 1914. On 5 Sept. 1914, he left with the 2nd Battn. for Flanders where, and on the Aisne, he served in the trenches, except for one week's leave home, until Dec. 1914. On 22 Dec. 1914, after a forced march from Bailleul, the regt. was ordered to retake, at all costs, trenches at Festubert which had been evacuated by Indian troops; advancing over open heavy ground in daylight, Capt. O'Brien, at the head of his company, was first wounded in the left side and fell, but was still able to encourage his men, calling out "Go on Munsters, now is your time to get back your own"; a few minutes later he was killed outright by shrapnel bursting over him; _unm._ An officer wrote: "He was ever a gallant officer, and died a glorious death after helping a wounded comrade to cover; by his death the regt. lost a most efficient and popular officer whom the men would follow anywhere." Col. Bent, who was badly wounded, in the same regt., wrote: "I wish to tell you what a splendid officer your son was; you will have this testimony from others, but I must tell you what he was to me, as his commanding officer. He was of the best in every way, and as a company commander was of the greatest use to me--absolutely reliable, he had his company in first-class order. Beloved by all the men and officers, he was such a splendid man and soldier that it seems particularly cruel that he should have been taken so early." Major Ryan, one of the few surviving officers of that fight, wrote: "From all accounts of everyone nothing could have been more gallant than the way he led his men." When in India he got a Special Certificate at the School of Signalling, Kasauli. He was a keen sportsman and a good shot with gun and rifle, and on two trips to Cashmere and Baltistan made good bags of big game. [Illustration: =Hugh Conor H. O'Brien.=] =O'BRIEN, JAMES JOSEPH=, Private, No. 1160, 1st Newfoundland Regt., _s._ of James O'Brien, of 27, Adelaide Street, St. John's, Newfoundland, Cooper, by his wife, Mary; _b._ St. John's, Newfoundland, 8 April, 1891; educ. Christian Brothers' School there; volunteered on the outbreak of war and enlisted, 1 Feb. 1915; and died in Edinburgh Hospital, 2 Oct. 1915, following an operation; _umn._ =O'CALLAGHAN, DUNCAN MCKAY MACDONALD=, 2nd Lieut. 3rd attd. 2nd. Battn. Duke of Cornwall's L.I., 2nd _s._ of the late Surgeon-Major George Henry Kenneth O'Callaghan, A.M.S., and eldest _s._ by his 2nd wife, Suzanne Charlotte (Minto House, Newquay, Cornwall), dau. of the late Thomas Harding, of Wick House, Brislington; _b._ Ludlow, co. Salop, 4 June, 1891; educ. Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Oxford; obtained his commission 10 Aug. 1914, being gazetted to the 3rd Battn. Duke of Cornwall's L.I., served with the 2nd Battn. in France and Flanders, and was killed in action at St. Eloi, 14 March, 1915; buried in Military Cemetery, Dickebusch, Flanders; _unm._ At Cheltenham he won the Junior School Championship in Athletic Sports and represented the College in cricket and football. He was a College Prefect and Head of his House. On leaving, he gained a classical scholarship at Trinity College, Oxford, where he was elected member of the Oxford University Authentics Cricket Club. He played in the Freshmen's and Seniors' matches in football and cricket, and, after leaving Oxford, was a prominent member of the London Irish Football Club. =OCHS, RONALD PHILIP=, 2nd Lieut., 5th, attd. 4th. Battn. The Middlesex Regt., yr. _s._ of Capt. James Frank Ochs, of 4, Sloane Gardens, S.W., now (1916) M.L.O. at Dieppe, by his wife, Amy, eldest dau. of Philip Goldsmith; _b._ 4, Sloane Gardens, S.W., 20 Nov. 1896; educ. at Chertsey, Sunningdale School, and Marlborough College; joined the Public School Battn. of the Middlesex Regt. on the outbreak of war, and was given a commission, 10 Feb. 1915; went to France early in June, 1915, and was killed in action at Hooge, Flanders, 27 Sept. 1915, and buried the next day at Brandhoek. [Illustration: =Ronald Philip Ochs.=] =ODDY, JOSEPH ETHELBERT=, A.B., |