Christopher O'Dowd (6 September 1920 – 6 October 1943), was an Irish founding member of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

Background

O'Dowd was born in Cahernabruck,

Shrule Shrule (, also anglicised to ''Shruel'', usage deprecated) is a village on the N84 road in County Mayo in Ireland. The county boundary between Mayo and County Galway follows the course of the Black River on the south side of the village. The r ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, the ninth of twelve children of James O'Dowd (died 1960) and Sarah O'Sullivan (died 1972). He was educated locally and worked as a teenager in a general merchant's store in Ballinrobe. Aged 18, he ran away to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to join the Irish Guards. O'Dowd had no relations who had previously served in the military, but was well aware of world events and was determined to fight against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

. He participated in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, before volunteering for the newly formed Commando unit. He served in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

alongside Randolph Churchill, Evelyn Waugh, and David Stirling. O'Dowd was one of the first members of a new unit founded by Stirling and

Blair Mayne Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne, (11 January 1915 – 14 December 1955) was a British Army officer from Newtownards, capped for Ireland and the British Lions at rugby union, lawyer, amateur boxer, and a founding member of the ...

, the

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

. He participated in many of the unit's early missions, which won him the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

. He later served in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. O'Dowd was one of eighteen members of the SAS who were killed by a shell in

Termoli Termoli (Neapolitan language, Molisano: ''Térmëlë'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly af ...

, on 6 October 1943. He had been awarded the

some weeks before. In 2011, his nephew, Gearóid O'Dowd, published an account of his life and the early years of the SAS.

Citation for Military Medal

* ''Unit: Irish Guards (attached to 1st Special Sir Service Regiment).'' * ''Regt. No.: 2719054'' * ''Rank and Name: Corporal Christopher O'Dowd'' * ''Action for which commended: Cp. O'Dowd has taken part in five successful operations, he has shown consistent bravery and steadiness.'' * ''At FUKA aerodrome on the 8th May 1942 he assisted to destroy 30 enemy aircraft.'' * ''While engaged on a raid on

Benghasi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

on 14th September 1942 he was in the last vehicle to leave covering the withdrawal by accurate and sustained machine gun fire which drew the defenders fire from the main withdrawing party.'' * ''On 23rd October he was the senior N.C.O. of the raiding party which attacked an enemy convoy driving from Siwa to Mersa Matruh, assisting in destroying four

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

s.'' * ''On 26th October, 1942, he assisted in blowing up the railway line west of Mersa Matruh.'' * ''On 1st November, 1942, he was the senior N.C.O. in a party of six which strafed traffic at Sidi Barrani nd then attacked a railway siding capturing eighteen prisoners, four machine guns, blowing up the railway line and destroying wireless equipment.''

References

Bibliography

* ''He Who Dared and Died: The Life and Death of an SAS Original Sergeant Chris O'Dowd, MM'', Gearóid O'Dowd, 2011. .

External links

Pen-and-sword.co.uk

Amazon.com

Advertiser.ie

Mayobooks.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODowd, Christopher 1920 births 1943 deaths British Army personnel killed in World War II Irish Guards soldiers Irish anti-fascists Military personnel from County Mayo Recipients of the Military Medal Special Air Service soldiers People from Shrule