- See Francis Peter McDonald’s entry on the Board of Trade’s Ancestry public tree.
- This information updates the group’s previous research published on the former DTI website (now archived by the National Archives).
- Do you have any more information about Francis Peter McDonald? If so the War Memorial Research Group would love to hear from you
Name recorded on Board of Trade Memorial: F. P. McDonald
Born: June 1895, Castleblayney, County Monaghan, Ireland
Date of Death: 10 September 1916
Age at death: 21
Service, Regiment, Corps, etc: London Regiment
Unit, Ship, etc: 16th Battalion (Queen’s Westminster Rifles)
Enlisted: Westminster
Rank: Rifleman (Service No: 4851)
Decorations: WW1 Service Medals (Victory Medal and British War Medal)
War (and theatre): WW1 (France and Flanders)
Manner of Death: Killed in Action (KIA)
Family Details:
Residence: Castleblaney, Ireland
Home Department: Board of Trade – Labour Department (Central Office)
Civilian Rank:
Cemetery or Memorial: Thiepval Memorial (Pier & Face 13C); Board of Trade War Memorial; Memorial to Staff of the Ministry of Labour; Irish National War Memorial Gardens; Ireland’s Memorial Records 1914-1918
Biography:
Francis was born in June 1895 in Castleblayney, County Monaghan, Ireland. His father was John McDonald (1848-?) and his mother was Bridget Mary Hogan (1857-1926). He had three brothers – John James McDonald (1883-?), Edward Joseph McDonald (1888-1955) and Thomas Michael McDonald (1890-?) and three sisters – Sarah Josephine McDonald (1885-?), Mary Margaret McDonald (1890-?) and Bridget Elizabeth McDonald (1899-1973). Francis’s father was a former Sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC).
In the 1901 census Francis is living with his family at 16 Henry Street, Castleblayney. Ten years later, in the 1911 census, the McDonald family are living at 22 Connabury in Castleblayney.
Francis was from an Anglo-Irish family and on finishing school, he decided to move to London to work for the Board of Trade in the Labour Department (Central Office) at Westminster.
We know that Francis enlisted alongside his fellow friends and colleagues in Westminster. He served as a Rifleman in the 1st/16th (County of London) Battalion (Queen’s Westminster Rifles).
We know that Francis was killed in action aged 21 on 10 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.
Francis is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial alongside his fellow soldiers of the Somme campaign. This iconic memorial commemorates those who died or were missing presumed dead at the Somme between July 1915 and March 1918. He was one of 32 Board of Trade men whose names are recorded on the Thiepval Memorial.
He is also remembered on the Board of Trade War Memorial and the Memorial to Staff of the Ministry of Labour.
Francis is commemorated in Islandbridge, Dublin by the Irish National War Memorial Gardens, which was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and built in memory of the 49,400 Irishmen who gave their lives during WW1. The name of every single soldier is contained inside the granite bookrooms in sumptuously illustrated manuscripts in “Ireland’s Memorial Records 1914-1918” designed by the famous graphic artist and illustrator Harry Clarke (1889-1931). The garden is a beautiful place of architectural interest and is one of the most famous memorial gardens in Europe with extensive trees, rose gardens and herbaceous borders.
Board of Trade War Memorial 