Lieutenant Claude Joseph O'Connor Mallins

Born in 1894, Claude J.O’Connor Mallins was the son of Frederick and Eliza Mallins of 31 Pembroke Road, Dublin. The couple also had a daughter, Rita. By 1901 the family was living at 122 Raglan Road, Dublin. Frederick must have been a man of means, as his household included at least 3 servants.

There is little information regarding Claude’s early life. He is known to have prepared for the Army Entrance Examination at Wimbledon College. The school originated as a military academy, preparing students for future careers in the Army, the Navy or the Indian Civil Service. Claude would have joined the Army Class, founded in 1898 and run primarily by the Jesuit Fathers. Most of the students graduated to famous military academies and Claude was no exception. He attended Sandhurst, receiving a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, Connaught Rangers on 15 August, 1914. War had been declared just eleven days earlier and by October, Claude and his battalion were sailing for France.

The 2nd Battalion was famous for its marching song “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.” The spirited words were necessary to maintain morale, particularly as the men were soon involved in heavy fighting in the Ypres region. Tragically Claude’s military campaign was brief. Barely one month into his posting he was killed at Molenaarelsthoek, near Passchendaele on 2 November, 1914. He was just 21 years old.

The Adjutant of his battalion supplied the following account of his gallant death :
“He was with his company in the trenches when the Germans attacked; he was looking over the trench directing the fire of his platoon when he was shot in the head by a rifle bullet. I am told that he lived for ten minutes but was unconscious. He was buried in a small garden with another officer in the village of Molenaarelsthoek. For the first three weeks he was in my company, so I had ample opportunity of getting to know him. I can vouch for the fact that he was an exceptionally gallant young fellow, very cool and thoroughly sound.” ( Source: Wimbledon College website )

Lieutenant Mallins is one of 54,395 British and Commonwealth servicemen commemorated on stone panels in the Hall of Memory at the Menin Gate in Ypres. This is just one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders. It represents the area known as the Ypres Salient, formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge.

Claude is also commemorated at Wimbledon College, where his name appears on a carved oak memorial panel in the ante-room to the chapel.