The MacDonnell Plaque is surmounted by a crest bearing the motto “Tout Jour Prét”. The crest is quartered with symbols as follows: upper left - a lion rampant; upper right - a mailed arm holding a cross; lower left - a sailing vessel; lower right - a whale. The plaque is signed: Pritchard-Andrews Co. Ltd., Ottawa
Shirley John MacDonell enlisted in July of 1916 and served overseas in the ambulance section of his unit until he was gassed at Vimy Ridge in April, 1917. Following a long convalescence in England, he returned to France to work as an orderly in the military hospital at Etaples. He succumbed to injuries received when the hospital was bombed on May 19, 1918.
Philip Doyne MacDonell, being too young to join the Armed Forces, went to Trenton during the summer of 1917 with two Perth chums, Edwin Noonan and James Smith, to work for the British Chemical Company. While at work in the munition plant, an explosion occurred which resulted in the tragic death of all three young men.
The parents of both men were Mr. and Mrs. P. J. C. MacDonell.
