Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of James Stirling Donald and Mary Clare Donald, of South Townsville, Queensland

Flight Sergeant Keith Donald was a Wireless Operator and member of the crew of a No. 466 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force Halifax Bomber MZ915 that left its base at Royal Air Force Station Driffield to attack a target at Keil in Germany that crashed at Osterholm in Denmark on the 15th/16th September 1944.

Before you receive this letter, you will have been notified by the Air Board, Melbourne, that your son, Flight Sergeant Keith Courtney Donald, was reported missing from an operational flight from this country.  It is with deep regret that I am writing to confirm this unhappy news and to convey to you the heartfelt sympathy of the Squadron in your great anxiety.

The aircraft, in which your son was Wireless Operator, took off to carry out an attack on enemy territory, but unfortunately it did not return.  This flight was one of those great efforts called for from the Royal Australian Air Force, which we all hope have contributed enormously to the shortening of the war.  It was undertaken with resolution and efficiency, so typical of your son and his crew.  They set an example on the Squadron during the short time that they were with us, which was an inspiration to all.  The most searching enquiries through all possible channels have so far revealed nothing, but naturally it will take some time for possible information to reach this country from enemy sources.  Meanwhile we can only hope that Flight Sergeant Donald and the other members of his crew are prisoners of war.  May I express my personal sympathy and profound regret that it should fall to my lot to convey to you tidings such as these knowing as I do what an anxious time it will mean to you.  Yours sincerely.

“PERSONAL – Word has been received by Mr and Mrs J.S. Donald, 6 Hubert Street, South Townsville, that their second son, Flight Sergeant Keith Courtney Donald, has been reported missing after an operational flight in the European area. Keith was of a cheery temperament, just 21 years of age, and had marked success in his examinations in Canada and England under the Empire Training Scheme. Flight Sergeant Donald received his education at the Toowoomba and Townsville Grammar Schools. An enthusiastic footballer, he played with the Estates football club, and at date of enlistment was employed in the office of Standply Ltd., Kennedy. The Donald family have their only three sons in the fighting forces.”

In September 1946 No. 18 Section of the Missing Research & Enquiry Service exhumed the bodies in the cemetery and another two that had been buried in a wood near Norreskev. As a result of the exhumation of the bodies it was possible to positively identify 9 members of the two aircraft and they were reburied in individual graves. It was not possible to identify the remains of Keith Donald and four others therefore they were buried in a communal grave alongside the graves of those that were identified in the Aabenraa Cemetery, Denmark.