John MacDonell (British Army officer)

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John Ronald MacDonell
Born4 March 1899
Died5 September 1944
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
RankColonel
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsDistinguished Service Order & Bar

Colonel John Ronald MacDonell, DSO* (4 March 1899 – 5 September 1944) was a British Army officer who served as acting General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division during the Second World War.

Military career[edit]

MacDonell was commissioned into the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers on 21 February 1920.[1] He was appointed adjutant of the Shropshire Yeomanry on 11 November 1928.[2] During the Second World War, he commanded his regiment during the First Battle of Ruweisat Ridge in North Africa in July 1942.[3] He briefly served as acting General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division in North Africa from 19 March 1944 to 24 March 1944.[4] He was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and was awarded a bar to his DSO on 3 September 1944, two days before his death in action in Italy on 5 September 1944.[5]

Family[edit]

He was married to Eldred Mary MacDonell.[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Army List 1922
  2. ^ "No. 33442". The London Gazette. 27 November 1928. p. 7777.
  3. ^ Barr, Niall (2005). Pendulum of War: The Three Battles of El Alamein. Pimlico. p. 92. ISBN 978-0712668279.
  4. ^ Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.. pp. 13–15
  5. ^ "No. 37340". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1944. p. 5432.
  6. ^ "Glencorse: 9th Queen's Royal Lancers War Memorial". Roll of Honour. Retrieved 5 February 2022.