Donald Douglas MacLean

Flight Sergeant Donald Douglas MacLean — Royal Canadian Air Force

Early Life

Donald Douglas MacLean

Donald Douglas MacLean was born in 1922, the only child of John Neil MacLean and Margaret Agnes Blue, who had married that same year at Port Hood, Inverness, Nova Scotia.

1931 Canadian Census

By the time of the 1931 Canadian Census, the family was living at Orangedale, Inverness, Nova Scotia. John, then 43, was recorded as a farmer, while Margaret, aged 29, kept the home. Donald, entered on the census as “Dan,” was 9 years old.

John Neil MacLean
Attestation Papers

Donald grew up in a household where the legacy of service was close at hand. His father, John, had enlisted in 1916 and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.

Military Service

In May 1941, Donald followed in his father’s footsteps by enlisting with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Trained as a pilot, he rose to the rank of Flight Sergeant and was posted to No. 116 Squadron (RAF).

Formed at RAF Hatfield on 17^th February 1941  from the No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Calibration Unit, 116 Squadron’s primary duty was the calibration of predictors and anti-aircraft radar for Army batteries across the UK. From November 1941, the unit expanded its work, receiving Hurricanes to conduct dive-bombing and low-level attack training so that British gunners could practice against realistic aerial targets. Though often scattered in detachments and seldom in the spotlight, 116 Squadron played a vital role in Britain’s defensive network until its disbandment in May 1945.

Death and Burial

Canada World War II
Records of Service and War Dear

Airspeed Oxford II

On 14^th May 1943, Flight Sergeant MacLean was flying an Airspeed Oxford II (W.6590) when his aircraft crashed at Turners Farm near Swansea, known locally as Morris Farm.

The crash report stated:

“Aircraft was seen by several witnesses to dive vertically out of cloud and hit the ground at right angles. Both engines were running up at moment of impact and at high RPM during the dive. No information is available regarding events preceding the dive because of obstructive cloud.”

Donald Douglas MacLean
St. Hilary church, Killay
credit - findagrave

Donald was buried with honour at St. Hilary’s Churchyard, Killay. His headstone bears the moving inscription, drawn from the writings of Fénelon:

“IT IS WE WHO ARE DYING: THOSE WHOM WE LOVE, LIVE AND WILL DIE NO MORE.”

Legacy

Though only 21 years old, Donald’s short life tied together two generations of Canadian service—his father’s in the trenches of the First World War, and his own in the skies of the Second.

The site of his crash has long since been overtaken by Swansea’s expansion. Once part of the estates of the Morris family, who founded Morriston as an industrial township in the 18th century, the farm—officially known as Caedala Farm—was known locally as Morris Farm. Today, Warwick Road runs over the site, with little remaining of the once grand estate beyond the nearby folly at Saunders Way.

Yet at St. Hilary, his grave remains as a quiet and enduring reminder of the Canadian airmen who crossed the Atlantic to serve—and of one young man from Nova Scotia whose service and sacrifice are still remembered.