Flying Officer "Norman" MACDONALD, 404346
On 6 January
1942, Edward John Norman MacDonald, known as Norman, was Rear Air Gunner on
board Wellington Mk.IV Z1182 scheduled to target the Battleships Sharnhorst and
Gneisenau in Brest, France. The
458 Sqn ORB states that “Wellington IV 1182 crashed near North Howden
Station when leaving on Operations”, giving a take-off time of 04:37am. The
record of events states “Crashed near Breighton immediately after taking off
owing to icing. One killed, one died from injuries and four slightly injured.
Bombs jettisoned safely just before crash. A/C being salvaged by armament
section”.[1] The letter sent to
Norman’s Wife in Sydney to confirm her Husband’s death states that the aircraft
crashed at approximately 04:45am.[2] Fellow
crewmember Pilot Officer David Norris Carmichael also died in the crash. The
rest of the crew; P/O Moran; Sgt Bottomley; Sgt Barlow; and Sgt Darling, all
survived though some with injuries.
[1] 458 Sqn ORB, page 51 on NAA
[2] A705 163/47/100, page 103 on NAA
The aircraft Captain, Pilot Officer Moran, wrote in his report: “arriving at my aircraft I found up to an inch of frozen snow on the wing and control surfaces of the aircraft.”, then telling Wg Cdr Mulholland that he would be unable to take off until the snow had been cleared. After taking off, Moran found that “the aircraft was not gaining height and the airspeed had dropped to 110 mph”. Moran felt the left wing start to drop and the aircraft begin to lose height. The aircraft “struck the ground in a left hand turn. I was thrown out of my seat and found myself on the forward exit hatch as the aircraft came to rest.”
Norman was buried buried on 8 January 1942 in St John the Baptist and All Saints Churchyard, Holme-on-Spalding-Moor.
Norman was not normally part of this flight crew. Their normal Observer, Flight Sergeant Cormack McLoughlin, was in hospital. In a letter to his family, McLoughlin wrote: “Yesterday I had this cold and I was to fly at night so I went to see the MO [Medical Orderly] to get something for it. He said I had better not go and put me to bed for a day or two. The crew had never flown without me before but they got another Navigator to take my place, Norm MacDonald from Brisbane. I knew him when I was in the Army at home. Well, I am sorry to say that they crashed and Norm and the Second Pilot were killed. It is just the luck of the game. The original five of us who have flown together are OK. They reckon they won’t fly without me, that I am the lucky mascot.”
Norman was born on 17 November 1914 in Brisbane, Australia. His father was Queensland Senator, John Valentine MacDonald who served as Senator in three terms for the Australian Labor Party until his death in 1937. His Mother was Emily Grace Fletcher.
Prior to the war, Norman was clearly a gifted student, finishing top of all scholarship candidates in New Farm, earning him a role as a clerk in the Federal Taxation Department in Sydney. MacDonald signed up to the RAAF on 16 August 1940, following his time in the Army, including 3 years as a Pay Corps Lieutenant. Norman married Nancy Ruth Dignan and had a son, David Norman Valentine MacDonald, who was born in May 1941. Norman was sent to Canada in December 1940 to join the No 2 Air Observer School (2 AOS), then onto No 2 Bombing and Gunnery School and finally No 1 Air Navigation School at Rivers, Manitoba before sailing for England via Iceland, joining 11 OTU at Bassinbourn in August 1941 and then finally 458 Sqn RAAF in October 1941.
Norman MacDonald’s brother, Sergeant William Donald Farquar “Tubby” MacDonald was in the Australian Army and became a Prisoner of War in 1941 and ultimately survived the war.
Among the correspondence following the crash, Norman’s mother, Grace, wrote to the Secretary of the Department for Air in Melbourne, where she wrote:
“Naturally I am heartbroken over his
death – I cannot yet quite think that our dear boy has lost his life in one of
these wretched plane accidents – He did so want to get some enemy planes to his
credit – a higher power had willed otherwise – and I suppose one just bows the
head & carries on –
Yours most faithfully,
G. Macdonald.”
