ERNEST O'DONOHUE

Sergeant Ernest Joseph O'Donohue, who was killed in action on 15 September 1916, is one of a number of men whose connection with Papanui was initially obscure. His name appears on the Papanui memorial as “Donohue”, and he is in fact the elder of the Donohue twins, Laurence and Leo, who were to be killed the following year. Given this date, it is certain that he was a volunteer, and considering he was one of the few men who were married (more than 90% of the Papanui men were single), it is somewhat surprising that he chose to do so. He was one of the experienced non--commissioned officers posted to create the Canterbury-based battalion of the recently-formed Third New Zealand Rifle Brigade. He was killed in action on the first day of the battle of Flers-Courcellette, 15 September 1916, and is commemorated on the New Zealand Memorial at Caterpillar Valley in the Somme.

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