McDONNELL, John Martin
(Service number 2/807)
| First Rank | Driver | Last Rank | Driver |
|---|
Birth
| Date | *1895 | Place of Birth | Dunedin |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | |||
| Occupation | General Blacksmith | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | M. McDONNELL, care of A. C. Watson, Coachbuilder, Temuka | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | New Zealand Field Artillery | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Arawa or Limerick | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Field Artillery | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Balkans (Gallipoli); Western Front; Egyptian | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 20 May 1919 | Age | 23 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Caversham, Dunedin | ||
| Cause | As result of active service | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Southern Cemetery, Dunedin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
John Martin McDonnell was the son of Martin John and Ellen McDonnell. He was educated at Caversham School, Dunedin. On finishing school he was employed by Mr A. C. Watson, wheelwright, Temuka. It was at Temuka that he had enlisted for compulsory military training. Later he moved to Wellington and joined the Permanent Artillery. On the outbreak of war, just 1 years old, he joined up and left with the Main Body. After he was wounded at the Somme, he was invalided home on the "Maheno". His ill health since brought about his death. His father was listed on the Reserve Roll while living at Temuka. Martin O'Donnell died in 1924 and is buried with his son in the Southern Cemetery. Also buried there is a younger brother, Frank Alexander, who was born in 1909 at Temuka, attended school at Temuka, and died in 1917. Also buried in the same plot in Southern Cemetery is Alexander robert who died in 1926 at 8 years. It appears that several of John's siblings died in childhood.
Sources
Auckland War memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [31 May 2019]; Southern Cemetery headstone image (Dunedin City Council) [31 May 2019]; Temuka Leader, 22 May 1919 (Papers Past) [31 May 2019]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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