Thomas Anthony O'Dowd

Rank:	Private
Street:
Townland:	Lehery
Town/Village:
Civil Parish:	Rathcline
Catholic Parish:	Rathcline
Country:
Alternative Address:
Census 1901:	N/A
Census 1911:	N/A
Regiment/Unit:	Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, 5th Battalion,
Regiment Number:	5627186
Date of Death:	11-07-1944
Cause:	Died of wounds, Battle of Hill 112
Memorial:	Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France
Information:	Thomas was born Thomas Dowd, on or around the 8 August 1913 in Lehery, near Lanesborough. Sadly, his father died at a young age in 1932, when Thomas was still a teenager. Little is known about Thomas's life prior to WW2, but it is possible that he was living in Brighton, working as a head waiter by 1939* Thomas enlisted for war service and served with the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He died at the Battle of Hill 112 (Operation Jupiter), part of the broader Battle of Normandy operations in France. He was sadly one of 320 casualties of the regiment at that battle.
Parents Names:	Son of Matthew O'Dowd and Anne (née Farrell), Lehery
Notes:	*The 1939 Register for England and Wales included an entry for a Thomas A. O'Dowd in Marlborough Street, Brighton living with what was likely a rooming house with other waiters, musicians etc., with the same date and month of birth, but the year given as 1914 rather than 1913; however, inconsistencies over dates of birth were not unusual for Irish people at the time.
Links:	Link to CWGC entry; link to Civil Record of Birth (please ensure web address ends in .pdf); link to parents' entry in 1911 Census; link to Imperial War Museum video footage of the Battle of Hill 112; website for the Hill 112 Foundation;