Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

Hi People,
I am on the trail of someone not in Liverpool, hence posting in this section.
I know you are all very clever at finding these people so thought I would enlist your help if that is allowed. ( Mods, just edit / delete if inappropiate ) .

Looking for the following persons birth.
He is amongst the fallen at Dunkirk.

Douglas Patrick McDornell b. NW London
Died aged 26 on May 29th 1940
info. is from CWGC site.

I have his marriage and his children etc

Thanks in advance for any help

I can't find an exact match the closest I can find is a person with a similar sounding name born in North West London:-

Mame: Douglas B MacDonald
Mother's surname: Taylor
District: Willesden
Quarter: April/May/June
Year: 1917
Volume: 3a
Page: 441


Blue

Hi,
Could you post his father's name and occupation from the marriage cert and the age Douglas gave on that cert?

I assume he married Frances E Lambley in Jun qtr 1934 [Droitwich - 6c - 588]. His birth is quite elusive even with wild cards. Had a look in Ireland and Scotland without success. Isle of Man anyone?

Edited 02.00 14/09/10 > Birth not found in Overseas or Marine Indexes.

Wondering if McDornell was the name he was registered under. You say he was born in N W London. What gives you that area as a possibility?

Dickiesam

No record of this birth in the Isle Of Man.

Blue

Hi folks
I also trawled through BMD for the surname, for births within 30yrs, no results.
Nothing in Anc@@
Using phonetic search brought up too many, I tried all kinds of variations for the surname with no results.
I also looked at Middlesex and other nearby counties.
Tina

CWGC states he was a Pte Worcestershire Regiment 8th Btn.
His wife Frances E was in Worcs.
No mention of North London??
Perhaps this comes from Anc@@ records?

As Dickiesam says, the vital clues might be on the marriage certificate - ie his father's name and occupation, it's possible that his marriage could be found and children traced from those names.

Not positive about the marriage to Frances Lambley as he died in 1940 yet there are two births to this marriage subsequent to that date, as well as three earlier. Maybe you could confirm if it is correct ....

RE:

Not positive about the marriage to Frances Lambley as he died in 1940 yet there are two births to this marriage subsequent to that date, as well as three earlier.

There is a gap between the first three and the next two. Need one of the latter's birth certs to be sure but with the McDornell surname being very unusual, and the other relatively rare, I think it will be the same mother. This would be her? Marriages Dec 1946> McDornell, Frances E - Lovell - Worcester - 9d - 754.

But we are straying from Paul's purpose in posting.. He already has a marriage, presumably in 1934, and children of that marriage. So we need him to respond on the marriage cert information request and the North London 'assumption'.

Dickiesam

The marriage is correct.
He died in 1940 at Dunkirk and she had two children by her soon to be second husband, hence the same surname.

I got the place of birth ( NW London ) from Ancestry - Death of Douglas McDornell - Army Roll of Honour.

Hello Paul,
Re that N W London reference on Ancestry. It apparently came from the Army Roll of Honour 1939-45 database © Naval and Military Press Ltd 2006. But what was the source for the original entry in that database? It's not on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry, so where did it come from? Might be an idea to inquire from the Naval and Military Press Ltd. http://www.naval-military-press.com/

Because of the total lack of births in the UK [including the Isle of Man] I really do suspect McDornell was not his birth name and he may have been adopted. Do you have his 1934 marriage cert with his father's name and occupation? If you don't have it I think it would be a help to order a copy.

He might have had to produce a birth cert when he enlisted and his Army papers would show when and where he was born and possibly a reference to the evidence of when/where? There isn't even a Douglas McDonnell birth to match, in case he subtly changed the surname for some reason.

Dickiesam

Looking for Margaret Sinnott born about 1895 or thereabouts...... mother of Peter Sinnott, my grandfather.

This should be part of a separate topic, but as Peter had the query in this thread...

Peter doesn't say where she was born but the 1901 census has a Margaret Sinnitt [sic] bn Liverpool abt 1895, father Peter [RG13 / Piece:3427 / Folio:103 / Page:26. Address: 55 Wolfe Street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool.

Births Mar 1893> Sinnott, Margaret - W. Derby - 8b - 371.

Dickiesam

Here's an update with the latest info. I have on Douglas McDornell.

It appears that, according to his elderly children, that his mother was married twice.
This should explain why no birth with that particular name.

He was mentioned in The Daily Telegraph at some time as he abandoned his wife and 3 kids.
As he died in May 1940, and the third child was born in Aug 1938, this will be the two years that this could have occured.

I have just seen an entry on Ancestry ( Phone Books ) that shows a D.McDornell as living in London in 1930.

This may be transcribed incorrectly as it is amongst a few McDonnell's!

Address is;
"Golden Eagle"
234, High Street
E1

I believe The Golden Eagle was a Public House.
http://london1912.co.uk/streets/Shadwel ... reet.shtml

Any help appreciated.

Paul