The 1941-42 SUCC Annual Report was a sombre account of a club bravely keeping just afloat during the dark days of World War II. Students had enlisted. Some were never to return. Others’ cricket careers were over.
In February 1942, Singapore had fallen. In April 1942, a RAF bomber had been shot down over Northern France. Only one of its crew survived the crash.
The 1941-42 Report’s editor, however, saw a glimmer of hope.
“We were very pleased to hear that Jack Connolly (sic) has been reported to be a prisoner of war after being on the missing list for some time.”
The Mosman Cricket Club Annual of the same season, 1941-42, contained the same news: Jack Connelly was a prisoner of war.
This was Jack Francis Connelly who had been born at Petersham on 7 March 1909, the only son of George (1883-1948) and Florence Christine nee Muldoon (1881-1973) and the older brother of Sheila (1913-2004) and Patricia (1915-1988).
Jack Connelly played for the Mosman Baseball Club from 1927 when he helped set up the club. He had joined the Mosman Cricket Club in 1926. In 1936-37, he coached the Mosman Green Shield (under 16) side.
He was not yet 19 when he took up his first teaching post at Neutral Bay Public School in 1928, as an Assistant Teacher, earning only 145 pounds per year. He then taught at various schools around NSW without formal teaching qualifications before entering Sydney University in 1937 to study Arts. He eventually graduated BA in 1940.
In his first season with SUCC, 1937-38, he batted steadily and bowled medium pace in 2nd Grade and in the Inter varsity games against Queensland and Melbourne before he became SUCC 1st Grader number 286. His three innings in 1st Grade, however, produced only 14 runs. In 1938-39, now a member of the Club’s selection committee, he seems to have volunteered to captain the Club’s ‘District Colts XI’ or 4th Grade side. His 205 runs and 30 wickets were invaluable.
In what was to be his final season with the Club, 1939-40, Jack placed himself in the 5th Grade side playing in the Municipal and Shire competition. He was involved generously in the Club’s administration as Honorary Secretary, delegate to the Sports Union, a member of the selection committee and President-elect of the AUSA for 1940-41. In 5th Grade, his batting flourished, dominated by 125 against Burwood, one of his four scores over 50 during the season, and he was a damaging bowler with 47 wickets including 9 for 51 against Northern District.
He never did take up his position with the AUSA.
By September 1940, Jack had enlisted at Mosman where he was living. He embarked in December, attached to the RAAF (Regimental number 402566) before serving with the RAF in 107 Squadron.
On 12 April 1942, at 12.21 hours, he took off from Great Massingham in a Boston III W8355. The aircraft was hit by flak and was ditched in the English Channel. Three were killed, all Londoners. Sergeant Colin Frank Docherty (wireless operator), Sergeant Thomas Joseph Delaney (air gunner) and the 19 year old pilot, Sergeant Allan Sydney Hatton. Jack was the only survivor and he was taken prisoner (POW 106) and sent to Stalag Luft L5 at Heydekrug.
Jack was a prisoner for three years. He’s briefly mentioned by the 1943-44 Mosman CC Annual Report as being in a POW camp in East Prussia. Somehow, the 1944 edition of Wisden had a story of an extraordinary cricket game played by the prisoners.
“Stalag Luft Prison Camp in East Prussia. Australia won a ‘Test’ match by 3 runs, the last English wicket falling to a wonderful catch off the last ball of the final over…that catch gave JE Connolly (sic), who was cricket secretary of Sydney University before the war, a match record of 13 wickets for 60 runs.”
Jack recorded his thoughts from Stalag 357-6 in January 1945:
“As part of the alleged reprisal measure, they [the German authorities] stopped all organised entertainment and closed the library…Before that, we had put on a good many plays, arranged symphony concerts with gramophone records.”
He wrote about books that he had read as part of his keeping mentally alert by studying works such as Harold Laski’s Grammar of Politics.
He was released in April 1945, almost three years to the day of the crash and he reported to the Brighton Reception Camp. Within a few weeks, his weight had increased from 10 stone 8 pounds to 12 stone 4 pounds. He was gracious, writing:
“No one could praise too highly the service authorities and the Red Cross for what they were doing for us ex-prisoners.”
Mosman’s 1944-45 Annual Report gives details of three Mosman CC cricketers who had been released:
Jack Connelly, Keith Carmody and Peter Pearson. Ten Mosman players died on active service, including Dr Llondha Holland who had also played for SUCC and who had been killed in May 1943 just off the Queensland coast when his Hospital Ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, resulting in 278 Australians being lost at sea.
Jack arrived back in Australia. He resumed his teaching career at Yanco Agricultural High School and then at North Sydney Boys’ High in 1952 as a French Master. Ian Craig, the future Australian Test captain and Mosman player, wrote to Mr Connelly during the 1953 tour of England to reassure him that his French had improved.
Jack resumed his cricket career with Mosman. Aged 45, he captained the 4th Grade side of 1953-54 for whom he took a hat trick during the season. By 1963 he was at Surry Hills. He married and spent some time overseas before returning to Australia where he died in Perth aged 76 in 1986, 43 years after the crash.
In the SUCC Annual Reports, however, the last mention made of the former SUCC Honorary Secretary and lower grade captain was in the 1941-42 Report which managed to spell his surname incorrectly.
Nevertheless, he had been given another chance of life.
If any of our readers knows any other details of Jack’s life, I would be most grateful to hear from them.
Gracious thanks to cricket historians, Ric Sissons and Alf James and to Hartley Anderson, Max Bonnell and Pat Rodgers for uncovering details of JF Connelly’s life.
JF CONNELLY. SUCC 1937-40
BATTING BOWLING
1st Grade 3-0-?-14 -
2nd Grade 9-3-49no-96 13-332
4th Grade 15-2-37-205 30-466
5th Grade 12-2-125-382 47-557
ALL GRADES 39-7-125-697-21.8 90-1355-15.1
James Rodgers