This is part of a series of essays about the First World War casualties commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Vermont.
Carroll Alfred Conner was born on 4 October 1894 at Lac Mégantic, Quebec the youngest of the three children of Eben and Lucy Conner. His father was a United States citizen from Vermont, working at the time as a conductor with Canadian Pacific Railway; his mother was Canadian.[1]
At the time of his enlistment at Richmond, Quebec on 20 April 1917, Conner was unmarried and working as a cashier clerk. Found fit for service, he joined a cyclist platoon raised in the region. He was allocated the number 2134932.
Posted to England, Conner departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 3 May on board the SS Justica and arrived at Liverpool on 14 May, from where he journeyed to Chiseldon Camp, Wiltshire. There he joined the Canadian Reserve Cyclist Company, which was responsible for training men destined for the Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion. Only two days later, on 16 May he was admitted to Chiseldon Camp hospital and diagnosed as suffering from pneumonia. His condition worsened rapidly, and he died on 23 May 1917, aged 22, having served for a little over one month.
His remains were returned to Canada and repatriated to Vermont, where he was buried in East Main Street Cemetery, Newport. His grave is marked by a family headstone that also records the details of his parents’ lives. Beside it is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone, on the back of which is a bronze plate inscribed:
LANCE CORPL
CARROLL ALFRED CONNOR [sic]
CANADIAN RESERVE CYCLIST COY
E T PLATOON
DIED 23RD MAY
1917
AGED 22 YEARS
Private C. A. Conner is commemorated on the Sherbrooke War Memorial, Quebec and on page 219 of the Canadian First World War Book of Remembrance; that page is displayed on 17 May. For his war service Conner was awarded the British War Medal 1914-20. His medal and memorial plaque and scroll were sent to his father and the Memorial Cross was sent to his mother.
1. (Back) Eben Alfred Conner (21 December 1859-8 June 1919) married Lucy Ladeau (1858-28 September 1931) in c1879. Kathleen A. (later Sullivan) (1879-NK); George Calvin (14 April 1890-27 April 1942).
Sacrifice 