Graeme Eaton Mac Donald was born in 1911. He was the son of Thomas and Eveline Macdonald, of Wainui, Canterbury, New Zealand. He married Joan Kathleen Ruby Macdonald, of Southsea, Hampshire.

Not much is known about him till 29 October 1942, when he took command of 4 Squadron, flying Mustang fighters.

Michael Ryan wrote a history of 4 Squadron. The following is from his history:On 29 October, 4 Sqn again changed hands. The CO, Wg Cdr Saunders, was posted to HQ RAF Northern Ireland, while his replacement came from HQ Army Co-op Command. Wg Cdr G.E. MacDonald, a New Zealander,was to be a great example to the whole Squadron.

Although nominally based at Clifton, Flights were detached to either Detling or Gatwick to flyops; this unsatisfactory arrangement was the best that could be organised at the time. [...]

4 Squadron

Meanwhile, back at Clifton, the rest of the Squadron was, according to the diary, practising
"Rhubarbs". "Rhubarb" was the code name for offensive fighter sweeps intended to taunt the German fighters into combat. Why the Mustang should be employed on this type of mission is unclear as it would have been ideally suited to the "Ranger" mission, a roving ground attack sortie, attacking targets of opportunity; or the "Popular" mission, which was armed reconnaissance.

The first Rhubarb was carried out by Wg Cdr MacDonald and Fg Off Scrivener on the 24th, but due to the lack of cloud cover over the operational area, it was abandoned.

A Popular mission on 27th yielded better results, however. MacDonald, Stephenson, Frost and Scrivener attacked marshaling yards at Sequeox and Aboncourt, claiming to have destroyed several railway engines, and also strafed AA units at Poix and Quevilly. Their detachment over, they returned to Clifton the following day.[...]

Operations, mostly coastal patrols, carried on throughout December, as did a small number of
offensive sorties. Wg Cdr MacDonald revelled in these, and he and his wingman, Fg Off Scrivener, carried out the lions share of them. However first contact with enemy aircraft fell to Plt Offs Whiteand Mobbs on 7 December. While MacDonald and Scrivener were happily engaged in attacking Transformer and Wireless stations along the French Coast, White and Mobbs were tasked with a Ranger. [...]

February 12 1943 was the day when 4 Sqn finally hit the headlines. After an abortive start, four
pilots set out on a Ranger sortie. Two were forced to turn back, but Wg Cdr MacDonald (of course) and Flt Lt Stephenson attacked various targets, including a parade of troops on an airfield.

The story, giving a great insight into the personality of MacDonald, is related by one of his
flight commanders, Flt Lt Baker;- "Wg Cdr MacDonald was the most vivid and invigorating person who came to No. 4 Squadron in my time. When Mac first joined us in October, 1942, we were based at York, but used to detach flights, for a month at a time, to Gatwick or Detling, to take pictures, or as a sideline, to beat up trains. Mac had little interest in cameras, except camera guns, and in his sudden visits to the detachment he set a splendid example of zeal and skill in finding Germans and killing them. One day he and CTP Stephenson came upon a parade on Poix airfield, which they joyously attacked. The next day, Sunday, the picture papers bore the headline "WE DISMISSED THE PARADE," SAYS WING COMMANDER. In fairness to Mac, I should say that I believe this to have been an invention of the sub-editor.

Mac was a splendid pilot and shot and an inspiring if impetuous leader. We were all the better
for trying to live up to the standards he set us and achieved himself. His passion was guns. He loved using them, harmonising them, talking about them, and, I have no doubt, dreaming about them. When off this one subject his mind ricochetted from topic to topic with a speed that left his audience speechless. His adjutant, "Arty" Fischel, was the chief sufferer, and after a session of trying to get a decision on an administrative matter, Arty would be quite distraught.

One day a new pilot asked Mac how to go about shooting down a Hun. Mac reply went like this: "What, shoot down Jerries? Too easy. Go to the French coast, fly up and down slowly at 5000 ft for an hour or two. They'll come up. Shoot a couple down, come home. No trouble. Barman, a flock of beers!" All this was delivered with such a serious air that for a little while it was taken to be serious advice......" Although success attended the Squadrons' (but mostly MacDonald's) labours across the Channel, training accidents were still taking a toll, and Fg Off Fisher was reported missing on a flight from East Moor to Edinburgh on the 19th. His aircraft was later found mostly buried in a bog at Otterburn. Fisher did not survive the crash.[...]

Operations recommenced on the 23rd, with Wg Cdr MacDonald (naturally) and Flt Lt Baker engaged on a Lagoon, which was a coastal anti-shipping sortie. Unfortunately, MacDonald suffered engine problems; he was prepared to bale out, but managed to make a forced landing at Coltishall.

Lagoons were carried out for the next few days, but on 28 April, the Squadron returned to Rangers over Holland. Unfortunately this was one mission too many for MacDonald, who, apparently pressing his attack too closely, was caught in the explosion of his target. His aircraft, AP255, was blown to pieces. Flt Lt Baker again takes up the story: " Mac's death was spectacular and typical. He was on a Ranger with Brian Slack (later killed in a Typhoon in Holland) as his No. 2. Mac found some barges on a canal (Vecht canal near Zwolle - webmaster) between Zwolle and Deventer. He opened fire at one thousand yards. Instead of dropping his opening burst half-way, as most of us would have done, his first rounds were on the target. The barges were full of ammunition and as Mac arrived they exploded. I was in the Ops Room that morning, and when we heard that only one of this pair was coming back, we assumed that we had lost Brian Slack, for to our minds, Mac was indestructible. We had cursed him often when he was with us, but missed him when he was gone. We yarned about him for years."

Fg Off Slack stayed in the area, looking for signs of a parachute, but had to give up. He
returned to the UK and landed, short of fuel, at Matlask. The Squadron Exec Officer, Sqn Ldr Riggall, was recalled from leave, and HQ 71 Gp informed. The following day, the new CO, Wg Cdr R. Noel-Smith arrived  from HQ 35 Wg to take over the Squadron.

Noel-Smith was the exact antithesis of MacDonald; where the latter was brash, the former was reserved; MacDonald was impetuous, Noel-Smith was cautious. Despite the differences, Noel-Smith was both liked and respected on 4 Sqn. MacDonald had never been much interested in the administrative side of the Squadron, but Noel-Smith immediately set about putting a tight rein on this aspect, noticeably with respect to the compilation of the Squadron diary, the F540. Up until now, entries had been made in the form of short essays or even stories. Under the new CO's influence, the format of the 540s became more concise and yielded up their information more readily. However, he was not opposed to a few choice comments now and again. With his support, Arty Fischel, the adjutant, again saw things running the way he liked.

The remainder of May was mostly devoted to training to incorporate new tactics - scheduled before the loss of MacDonald, and in no way the result of his death."

In his last mission, WC MacDonald took off in Mustang I AP255 at 06.30. He and his wingman, Brian Slack, made landfall at terschelling. Thet shot up two trains in the Groningen area and continued south. On the Vecht canal, near the Hasselterdijk between Hasselt and Zwolle, they engaged a couple of barges at around 08.00. WC MacDonald went down to 20-30 feet and shot up the barges. One exploded, being filled with ammo. The blast and debri hit WC MacDonald's plane which crashed. A few Dutchmen also died in the blast.

Wing Commander Graeme Mac Donald is buried at Voorst General Cemetery, Plot A. Row 1. Grave 2.

(picture by Wim Bastiaanse)
 

Voorst, The Netherlands

See Also:
FO Brian Slack

All 4 Squadron casualties killed and/or buried in The Netherlands

Sources:
Michael Ryan, 4 Squadron History
Gerrit Zwanenburg, En Nooit Was Het Stil, Vol.I, Royal Netherlands Air Force, ny
Martyn, Errol W.,  For Your Tomorrow, Volume I and II, Christchurch: Volplane Press 1999

Acknowledgements:
RAF Squadron crest © Crown Copyright is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office

Directions to Voorst (Zwollerkerspel) General Cemetery

Posted 8 May 2008

If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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