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McDonald, William Thomas

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) William Thomas
Surname McDonald
Gender M
Age 25
Date of Death 25-10-1942
Next of Kin Son of Robert D. McDonald and Hannah Dodman McDonald, of Punta Arenas, Chile.
McDONALD WT

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number W4135
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Brookwood Military Cemetery
Grave Reference 23. A. 16.
Epitaph MOTHER, I'VE WEIGHED THE RISKS WHICH I PREFER TO LIVING IN A WORLD DOMINATED BY NAZIS. BILL.

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 70

Enlistment Information

Service Number 1553032
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 5
Squadron 50
Squadron Motto Sic fidem servamus (Thus we keep faith)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Chile

Other Memorials

Location Birchwood Way, Birchwood Estate, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brick Memorial & Inscribed Marble Obolisk
Memorial Text To the memory of the Air Crews and Ground Staff who gave their lives whilst serving with No 50 Squadron and No 61 Squadron, 5 group, Bomber Command The Royal Air Force 2nd World War 1939 to 1945. No 50 Squadron "From defence to attack" Operated from Waddi
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Location Memorial Gardens, Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Brick Memorial with Inscribed Marble Stone
Memorial Text Royal Air Force Skellingthorpe. My brief sweet life is over, My eyes no longer see, No Christmas Trees, No summer walks, No pretty girls for me, I've got the chop - I've had it, My nightly ops are done, Yet in another 100 years I'll still be twenty one. R
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Miscellaneous Information

Note that the ORB names the rear gunner as F/S D A MacDonald but no such person died on or shortly after the incident according to CWGC. It is therefore almost certainly a mistake and the rear gunner was in fact Sgt W T McDonald.
Date of birth 7 February 1917

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/487/20
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/487/19

Fellow Servicemen

Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.

Muskett R (Sgt)
Rea R W (F/S)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 24-10-1942
End Date 24-10-1942
Takeoff Station Skellingthorpe
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Milan
Reason for Loss Aircraft was running well behind time and came under sustained heavy flak bombardment (possibly as a result of being a 'straggler' flying over defences that were by now well prepared after the main force had passed through). Dived down to treetop level to avoid the flak and low cloud, only to be hit by machine gun fire from roof top defences. The rear gunner was hit by the fire and the mid-upper gun turret put out of action. Unable to get an accurate fix on their position, they bombed a target of opportunity- a large factory/warehouse. The bombs and incendiaries were seen to enter the building through the roof. The mid-upper gunner dragged the injured rear gunner from his turret and then took up the position himself after repairing the doors with an axe. Meanwhile the flight engineer tended the injured serviceman's wounds. On the return leg the front and rear gunners shot up two trains. Landed at RAF Boscombe Down and the rear gunner was taken to Salisbury hospital where he sadly died of his injuries the following day. The aircraft had sustained many bullet holes, the starboard inner engine was hit and the tailplane main spar was damaged. The Lorenz equipment had also been put out of action.

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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.