Profile

O'SHEA, Cornelius
(Service number 6/3122)

Cornelius O'Shea, circa 1915 — Cornelius was killed in action on the Western Front in 1917. (Courtesy of P Buchanan, South Canterbury Museum L2013/008.03)

Headstone, Cornelius O'Shea — Cornelius was killed in action on the Western Front in 1917. (Courtesy of P Buchanan, South Canterbury Museum L2013/008.04)

Temuka War Memorial, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #01)

Temuka War Memorial dedication inscription, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #05)

Temuka War Memorial plaque, names M-Y, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Sacred Heart Basilica memorial plaque, photographed about 2010 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Aliases
First Rank	Lance Corporal	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	07/06/1893	Place of Birth	Temuka

Enlistment Information

Date	6 December 1915	Age	22
Address at Enlistment	High Street, Timaru; Willowbridge, Sth Canterbury
Occupation	Labourer
Previous Military Experience	Timaru City Rifles
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Patrick O'SHEA (father), High Street, Timaru
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Examination Passed. Fit For Service.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	7th Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	Canterbury Infantry Battalion
Date	10 September 1915
Transport	Aparima or Navua or Warrimoo
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Suez, Egypt

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western European
Service Medals	1914-15 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date		Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Admitted to hospital 5th July 1915, Trentham. Granted sick leave 19th to 30th July 1915.

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	15 March 1917	Age	23
Place of Death	Messines, Belgium
Cause	Killed in action, in the Field
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	St Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery, Heuvelland, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Memorial Reference	II. B. 17.
New Zealand Memorials	On Memorial wall, Timaru; Basilica of the Sacred Heart; Temuka RSA Roll of Honour; Temuka War Memorial

Biographical Notes

Son of Patrick & Elizabeth (McAULIFFE) O'SHEA, of Timaru. Brother of Daniel O'SHEA, also killed in action in 1916.

Embarked For France From Pt Said, Suez Canal, Egypt On The Ship The Franconia (1) Troopship. 6/04/1916.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [21 July 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5549 0089002) [04 August 2013]; CWGC [04 August 2013]

External Links

Researched and Written by

Patrina Buchanan

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.

Tell us more

Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!