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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: C. Macdonald on Tuesday 31 October 17 13:27 GMT (UK)
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(http://)Remembering all who have fallen in conflict especially Daniel Stewart Macdonald son of Daniel Stewart Macdonald and his wife Janet McNab, Daniel was killed on 18th February 1917 on the Somme. As he and his parents and siblings lived in the Glasgow area I'm sure he would have joined a Scottish regiment. I am hoping to find any relatives of my Gt Uncle Daniel or descendants of his siblings who might be able to give me details about him regarding family etc. what regiment he was in, any details at all would be welcome. I have not been able to trace him on any of the war records so any information would be welcome.
Many thanks Colin Macdonald.
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You might find him listed as Donald as the names were interchangeable!
Skoosh.
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Are you sure of his date of death?
I'm not seeing anything on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website? www.cwgc.org
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Worth looking here...
http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/#
As Skoosh says may be Donald but also check for Mc & with or without middle name or initial?
Annie
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To KGarrad thanks, the date of Daniel's death and at the Somme are written on the back of his photograph, I have not been able to find his war record details using the date of his death so don't know what to try next.
Colin.
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Hi Colin,
Was his date of birth 12th June 1885 ? If so there is a tree on Ancestry which has further details regarding Daniel and his family.
He was a private in the Highland Light Infantry regimental number 40604.
Hope this helps.
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The tree on Ancestry has the same photo as yourself, same date, but shows a link to a Daniel McDonald died 15/7/1917. Is the date on the photo really clear? For instance, could the day '18' actually be 15, and the month '2' actually be 7?
Annette
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CWGC has:
Private Daniel McDonald, 40604
15th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
Died 15th July 1917
Commemorated at Nieuport Memorial, West Flanders
Nieuport is now called Nieuwpoort, and lies halfway between Dunkirk and Ostend.
See: https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1640801/mcdonald,-daniel/
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He is also commemorated in the Scottish National War Memorial Book of Remembrance at Edinburgh Castle as Daniel McDonald and his date of death is 15/7/1917.
Dorrie
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Private Daniel McDonald, 40604
15th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
Died 15th July 1917
List of soldiers effects names his NOK as mother Margaret.
Daniel was killed on 18th February 1917 on the Somme
The Somme offensive didn't start until July so something not quite right about that.
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Many thanks to all who contacted me , your details have now cleared up the points that were causing me problems, thanks to all who helped.
Best regards.
Colin.
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The tree on Ancestry is well researched and contains the following information and records to back it up.
Janet McNab (Daniel's Mother) died in 1903 and his father remarried on 17th July 1917 to a lady named as Mary Margaret Surgeon. The wedding took place 2 days after Daniel had been killed in action at Neuport, West Flanders, Belgium. This would explain the Margaret named as his mother on the list of soldier's effects. His father died in 1924.
Dorrie
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The Register of Soldiers Effects has his death as "presumed" on 15 July 1917 which, sadly, means that that his body was never found and hence his commemoration on the Memorial.
His battalion were deployed near Nieuport* in defence of the Yser bridge in what became known as the Battle of the Dunes covered here: http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battles/battles-of-the-western-front-in-france-and-flanders/operation-hush-including-the-battle-of-the-dunes/. On 15 July 1917 the battalion suffered some 200 casualties from artillery and machine gun fire.
MaxD
*200 kilometres north of the Somme.
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Very many thanks for those details MaxD.
Colin.
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Their part in the above battle was to re-take the trench system (blue square) which had been taken & lost by the Royal Scots a couple of days earlier.
This position is just off the coast N. of Niewport.
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I'm now starting to question the 'Donald McDonald, died 15/7/1917' - the tree on Ancestry that has made this link shows under source 'Statutory registers, Deaths' details of this Donald McDonald but this states he was aged 21.
Annette
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I have checked that out too Annette7 and see what you mean about the age given as 21 instead of 31.
Perhaps this was a clerical error as sometimes happened when writing out long lists of deaths.
The photograph is the same person so I think we have the correct man.
Dorrie
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It's also odd that he names his NOK as mother Margaret when in fact it was his father who was still alive.
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Jim, I read somewhere that the NOK in the Great War was usually the mother. Presumably if sending money home she would be the recipient!
Skoosh.
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On an attestation his NOK would have been his father. There is a point to be made that a recipient of a gratuity could be anyone he chose to name but odd that it's not his father.