Hugh John Connell DSO, MC & Bar (12 June 1884 – 31 January 1934) was an Australian politician from the Labor Party and a soldier who served in World War I. Connell was born in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, New South Wales and educated at Woollahra and Paddington public schools, Fort Street High School and at a teachers' training college.
He taught at state schools in Sydney (1900–1905), Golgolgon and Tarcoon (1905–1908), Broken Hill and nearby Alma (1908–1910).
[1][2] Connell served from the outbreak of World War I in military training and in 1916 joined the First Australian Imperial Force as a lieutenant in the 35th Battalion and was promoted to captain in May 1916.
[2] In 1920, Connell was elected as a Labor Party member for Newcastle in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1920 to 1927.
[1] Connell received a Distinguished Service Order in 1917, Military Cross in 1916 and bar in 1917, and was twice mentioned in despatches.