O'Donnell Michael Pte 4459553
Personnel Entry
Name O'Donnell Michael
Army number 4459553
Rank Pte
Decorations
Date of birth Research suggests O'Donnell was born in Camberwell, South-East London in 1918, mother's maiden surname Scarse.
Age 0
Unit Joined The Durham Light Infantry, T, no enlistment date. Posted 11th Bn DLI. Served BEF? DIED between 11th and 31st May 1940 - CWGC has date of death as 11th May 1940.
Company/Battery
Platoon or other sub-unit
Task or role
Joined Brigade
Promotions
Wounded
Prisoner of War
Died/Killed in action 11-May-40
Home address Resident of South East London. No further family information as yet. Death could have been up to 31 5 1940. Buried Grave 16, Roeux Communal Cemetery.
Source table 11DLI
The DLI Roll of Honour has his date of death as 1/5/1940 which is highly unlikely. The War Office casualty list shows only 5/40 with no day. Research will continue to establish whether Pte O'Donnell was killed at MERCATEL or FICHEUX on 20th May 1940, or subsequently died of wounds. The Battalion War Diary makes no mention of a casualty on 11th May so it is not clear what evidence CWGC has to support the use of that date. The information suggests that his remains were not recovered until 31/5/1940, making the decision on the correct date of death difficult.
