Name: Donald Grant Hamilton Rank: Warrant Officer Class II (Air Gunner) Service No: R/137725 Regiment/Service: 429 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force/Air Gunner #1 Manning Depot, Toronto/Standard Tradesman Date of Birth: November 2, 1915 Place of Birth: Raynardton, Yarmouth NS Date of Enlistment: August 2, 1941 Place of Enlistment: Yarmouth NS Age at Enlistment: 25 Height: 5 feet, 8 inches Trade: Farmer/Chauffeur/Truck Driver Marital Status: Single Religion: Baptist Next of Kin: Elizabeth Rae Hamilton (Mother) Raynardton, Yarmouth Co., NS Mother: Place of Birth Richfield, Digby Co., NS Date of Death: December 4, 1943 Age at Death: 28 Cemetery: Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery (Berlin, Germany) Grave Reference: Coll. grave 8. D. 35-37. Commemorated on page167 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 7 The 47th name on the WWII list of the Yarmouth War Memorial Donald was the son of Alfred Vernon Hamilton (1881-1939) and Elizabeth Rae (Bullerwell) Hamilton (1885-19630, of Raynardton, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia. He was the brother of Arnold Wilber Hamilton (1905-1963), Harold Vernon Hamilton (1907-1959), Lloyd Archibald Hamilton (1908-1969), Ardis Muriel Hamilton (1913-2006), Annie Laura Hamilton (1917-2018), Edith Shirley Hamilton (1921-2011), and Edith Marion Hamilton. Brought up on a farm, Donald finished his grade 10 in 1930 and continued to work on the farm and did some truck driving. He enjoyed reading, fishing, baseball, tennis, skating, and swimming. After the death of his father, and the youngest and only child living at home, Donald was the sole support of his mother. His brothers, Arnold Wilbur was living in Dorchester, Mass., Harold was living in Brooklyn, Yarmouth Co., NS, and Lloyd Archibald was at No.60 CIBTC Yarmouth. His sisters, Mrs Ardis Muriel Fergerson was living in Yarmouth, Mrs. Laura Annie Wood was living in Raynardton, Mrs. Edith Shirley Raynard was living in Raynardton, and Ethel Marion Hamilton (aged 17) was living in Raynardton. Donald completed Basic Training at # 60 CABTC Yarmouth (Course No.3) between January 10 and February 8, 1941 and served in the Reserves (West Nova Scotia). He initially enlisted with the RCAF in December 1941 as a stranded tradesman (transport driver) On June 6, 1942, Donald applied for enlistment as an air gunner with the RCAF. In his interview with R. D. MacLeod, Flying Officer, he readily admitted he wanted to get more action, was keen to fly, and although he didn’t know machine guns, he was a good rifle shot. He was assessed as better than average material, bright, and cooperative. He obtained his Air Gunner Badge on September 25, 1942. Having completed training in Canada, he served in the United Kingdom, arriving there on November 5, 1942, with 23 Operational Training Unit, 426 Squadron, and joined 429 Squadron on March 24, 1943. On the night of December 3, 1943 Squadron 429 left its base at 23.54 hrs. In the early morning of December 4, at 03:40 hrs. near Wittenmoor, the Halifax aircraft in which he was an air gunner, was shot down by a night fighter 15 km. south-west of Stendal. The aircraft burst into flames and exploded in mid-air and the wreckage was strewn over a wide area. Two men bailed out, Flight Officer H. M. Brown and Sergeant D. Bruno and were taken as prisoners of war. The bodies of three were recovered, two of them from among the wreckage. (Air Gunner Donald Hamilton, Sergeant George Robert Hooper, and Pilot Officer F Hingston). No trace could be found of the remaining three (Flight Officer W. E. Hampton, Flight Sergeant J. C. Lochhead, and Sergeant J. R. Williams). The aircraft (Halifax JD 361) was initially listed as “missing” when RCAF Squadron returned from the air operation over Leipzig, Germany. Donald Hamilton was subsequently reported “missing believed killed” based upon German information reported through the International Red Cross (September 12, 1944). The three recovered bodies, including Donald Hamilton were initially buried at the North edge of the Parish Cemetery of Wittenmoor, Germany.

Donald Grant Hamilton

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Canadian Virtual War Memorial findagrave.com

Donald Hamilton