Captain Colin Richard James Connors
Personal Details
- 42192 Captain
- Colin Richard James Connors
- Bomb Disposal
- Royal Engineers
MBE - Son of James John and Kathleen Myrtle Connors: Husband of Violet Marie Therese Connors of Leeds.
Born on the 4th September in 1898 in India
Died on the 3rd August 1944. Aged 46.
Captain Conners was killed while defusing a bomb on a beach in Yorkshire after distinguished service with the Royal Engineers since WW1 and had been involved with Bomb Disposal since the start of the blitz in London. He was awarded the MBE posthumously and this was given to his son Terrance by the then Princess Elizabeth. Terrence was the eldest of four sons Terrence, Colin, Roderick and Sean. There were seven daughters Colette, Mignonne, Camilla, Delphine, Lorraine, Irmina and Imelda. Captain Connors father James served as a Bandsman with the Border Regiment while serving in India.
Buried at Leeds Roman Catholic Cemetery.
Section E Grave 275.
Believed to have died clearing mines in the north of England.
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Hello I am a great nephew of 42192 Captain
Colin Richard James Connors
The year date is wrong it should be 1944 .He died doing bomb disposal on a Yorkshire beach then .He had also done bomb disposal work in London during the blitz .His MBE was posthumous given to his son Terence by the then Princess Elizabeth.Colin was born 4th September 1898 in India .His father James Connors was a bandsman with the Border Regiment at the time of his birth serving in India then .Colin also served in WW1 as a RE officer .Hope this is useful thanks
Good Afternoon Ian, Thank you for your comments and your Great Uncles details have been updated. Regards, Gary
My late husband was the posthumous son of Colin Connors. I am trying to compile the family tree so would be most interested to hear from ian
He also had 7 daughters – Colette, Mignonne, Camilla, Delphine, Lorraine, Irmina and Imelda
??? I want to ‘celebrate’ if that’s the right expression- the 75th anniversary of his death – but this post needs to be up to date! Capt Connors had 11 children not just 4 sons!
Dear Diane, The daughters have been added. Apologies for the delay. We are volunteers with full-time jobs – so updates may take some time. Thanks you providing the additional information.
Thank you so much for updating the information!
Hello Colin was my great grandad
My father John B Davis aunt was Violet .Her maiden surname was Davis. He attended the Leeds funeral of Captain Connors as a teenager .From a comment of my late father, I get the impression the exact cause of death of Colin , was he was defusing a beached sea mine .
Cannot find any exact details of how he died. However, from the date and location he probably was clearing the minefields laid as anti-invasion measures between June 1940 to June 1942.
As the threat of invasion lessened a decision was made to clear the minefields. This began in 1943 and continued till 1966 when the last minefield was cleared at Trimmingham, Norfolk. More work did occur over many years as not all the mines laid were accounted for. From 1943 to 1953 150 fatalities occurred during these operations through out the UK.
There was another casualty on that day, Lance Sergeant SJ Dawton at Redcar Yorkshire who’s casualty card shows he died when a land mine exploded during mine field clearance operations. Officers casualty cards if in existence are not available at this time.
From National Archives
The Citation is taken from file WO373/156/165 held at the National Archives.
Posted in the London Gazette on the 8th June 1944. Supplement 36544. Page 2577.
He has been employed for the last 18 months as Field Engineer for the Area of N. Riding District and has shown great capacity, initiative and energy I his work particularly during the last six months when engaged in tracing, locating and wiring in the minefield laid in the East Coast of the District. This often involved work of a dangerous nature as in some cases the records of the exact location of the minefields were found to be incorrect, necessitating the use of a detector.
Two O. Rs working under him were actually killed on this work and it was only the fact that he was called away to another duty saved his life on this occasion.
I will be laying the RBL wreath in Gibraltar this year on behalf of RBL Duquesa branch and also in memory of my father-in-law Colin Connors MBE. All family members are welcome to join me!