BORN HULL 24/10/1894. SON OF DANIEL McDONALD (1863-1931) & SARAH BERESFORD (1866-1941), AT 4 MASON STREET, HULL (CWGC ADDRESS). SON OF A DOCK LABOURER. ONE OF TWELVE CHILDREN. ROMAN CATHOLIC FAMILY. A BRICKLAYER, BY TRADE. JAMES McDONALD, LIKE HIS BROTHER, JOSEPH, WAS WELL KNOWN IN HULL BOXING CIRCLES AND WON THE FEATHERWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP OF HULL, AT BEVERLEY ROAD BATHS IN MARCH 1914.
JAMES McDONALD ENLISTED IN HULL. JOINED THE 1ST EAST RIDING FIELD ENGINEERS, AS A BRICKLAYER. HE DIED OF WOUNDS IN FRANCE, ON 23RD MAY 1916, AGED 21. HE IS RECORDED AS DIED OF WOUNDS ON HULL’S NAPIER TERRACE, ROLL OF HONOUR (Hull Daily Mail 17 October 1916).
HIS BROTHER, SAPPER, JOSEPH CHARLES McDONALD, 98TH ROYAL ENGINEERS, DIED OF GAS WOUNDS, ON 25/10/1918, AGED 22, AND IS BURIED IN HULL. BOTH BROTHER’S NAMES, ARE LISTED ON ST CHARLES BOREMEO, CHURCH MEMORIAL, HULL
HIS BROTHER, DAVID COMMITTED SUICIDE AT BEVERLEY BECK IN 1917, AGED 17. ANOTHER BROTHER, WILLIAM, LOST A LEG IN AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT IN 1917.
McDonald, James
First name:
JAMES
Regiment:
Military Number:
515
Rank:
Sapper
Date Died
23/05/1916
Place died:
Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord, France
Age:
21
