Donald John Mathias – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Aircraftman 2nd Class Donald John Mathias – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

1939 Register 

Early Life and Family Background

Donald John Mathias was born in 1913, the son of Thomas Mathias and Emily Clement. Although the family does not appear in the 1921 Census, they are recorded in the 1939 Register living at 21 Sidney Street, Swansea. Thomas, then retired, had previously worked as an electrical labourer, while Emily undertook the household duties. Their daughter Bessie was employed as a mantle assistant in a drapery warehouse, and Donald himself worked as a commercial traveller in the grocery trade, reflecting the varied working lives of a Swansea household on the eve of war.

Military Service – RAF Carew Cheriton

Donald later enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, serving as an Aircraftman 2nd Class. He was based at RAF Carew Cheriton, Pembrokeshire, a strategically important airfield used for coastal reconnaissance, training, and anti‑submarine operations during the early years of the Second World War.

Death During Enemy Air Raid, April 1941

On 15 April 1941, Donald John Mathias was killed in the station sickbay during an enemy air raid, when Heinkel He 111 bombers attacked Carew Cheriton Airfield. His death came not in flight or on active patrol, but in the vulnerability of a medical station struck during a sudden and destructive raid—one of several inflicted on RAF bases across South Wales during the Blitz period.

Burial

Donald’s body was brought home to Swansea and laid to rest at St. David’s Church, Penllergaer, where his grave remains a reminder of the dangers faced by ground personnel and support staff during the war, as well as the heavy toll enemy raids inflicted on Welsh airfields.