John (JB) Bernard O'Donnell

J B O'Donnell J B O'Donnell

John, known as JB, was born in 1888.  JB's father was Andrew O'Donnell and his mother was Bridget (Kate) Catherine Connelly.  His paternal grandparents were Martin O'Donnell and Margaret Green; his maternal grandparents were John Roche Connelly and Elizabeth (Eliza) Greenfield. He had four brothers and two sisters, and also a sibling of unknown gender, named Frank, Charles, Joe, Big Mac, Dotty, Henrietta and Andrew.  He was the third youngest of the eight children.  He died at the age of 86 in 1974 in Malvern, Victoria.

• General Notes

  From Australian War Memorial Records:
  
  Single. Frank O’Donnell listed as next of kin
  Machine Gun Section
  Enlisted: 19 July 1915, 28 years old
  Rank: Lieutenant
  Roll title: 38 Infantry Battalion (June 1916)
  Conflict: First World War, 1914-1918
  Date of embarkation: 20 June 1916
  Place of embarkation: Melbourne
  Ship embarked on: HMAT Runic
  Ship number: A54
  
  The 38th Battalion -  After training in both Australia and Britain, the 38th Battalion crossed to France in late November 1916. In February 1917 the 38th Battalion provided 400 troops, with a similar party from the 37th Battalion, to form a special raiding "battalion". The 38th fought in its first major battle at Messines, in Belgium, between 7-9 June 1917. It fought in another two major attacks in this sector - the battle of Broodseinde on 4 October, and the battle of Passchendaele on 12 October. It was the 38th's most costly operation of the war, resulting in 62 per cent casualties. The 38th participated in its last major action of the war between 29 September and 2 October 1918 as part of the Australian-American operation that breached the formidable defences of the Hindenburg Line along the St Quentin Canal. It was disbanded in April 1919.
  
  38th Infantry Battalion
  Fairey, Eric. The story and official history of the 38th Battalion A.I.F. (Bendigo : Bendigo Advertiser Pty. Ltd. and the Cambridge Press, 1920)
  

Details of JB's family with Ethel May Holman