L Sgt
Cyril Donaldson
Military Details
Service Number: 3607836
Regiment & Unit / Ship
2nd Bttn Border Regiment
Service Branch
Army
Enlistment Details
Residence at Enlistment
10 Low Padstow Cleator Moor
Rank at Enlistment
Pte.
Battalion at Enlistment
2nd
Service Number at Enlistment
3607836
Service History
A post-war accident: 59 Squadron's Consolidated B-24 Liberator (#KH125) aircraft which had taken off from Malta [destination- RAF Oakington] with an aircrew of five and transporting 28 military passengers was tragically hit by lightning while in flight over France, crashing at Trizay near Échillais and taking the lives of all twenty-eight servicemen flying in KH125.
Battalion War Diary Extract
Movement history of Liberator GR.VIII KH125.
Ex.44-10690
Delivered Dorval 24 August 1944
departed Dorval 28 August 1944
Gander to Prestwick 29 August 1944
To Scottish Aviation Ltd 29 August 1944
To 120 Squadron 2 January 1945
To Lockheed, Renfrew 31 August 1945 for conversion to C.VII troop transport
To No.1 Transport Aircraft Modification Unit for conversion completion. (Formed at Tempsford on 14 June 1945 under Maintenance Command for the conversion of Liberator aircraft for troop carrying)
To 220 Squadron 17 November 1945
On a trooping flight wing broke off in extreme turbulence near Rochefort, France 3 December 1945
Struck Off Charge 31 January 1946
Transfer Details
Regiment Transferred To
Border Regiment
Personal Details
Date of Birth
16th April 2026
Place of Birth
Frizington
Address
10 Low Padstow, Cleator Moor
Residence (Census)
10 Low Padstow , Cleator Moor
Residence (Roll of Honour)
10 Low Padstow , Cleator Moor
Parents
George P and Minnie
Siblings
Sallie
Education and Occupation
Work Address
7 Low Padstow, Cleator Moor
Death and Memorial
Date of Death
3rd December 1945
Age at Death
22
Circumstances of Death
Monday 3 December 1945 Cyril and some of his Border regt. comrades were passengers on Liberator GR.VIII KH125 .220 Squadron.
The Liberator was on a trooping flight and was returning to the UK from the Middle East. During severe turbulence the port main plane failed and the aircraft crashed near Rochefort, France.
Theater of Action
Western Europe
Regiment at Death
Border Regiment
Battalion/Vessel at Death
2nd
Rank at Death
Lc Sgt.
Buried or Commemorated at
Rochefort-sur-mer Naval Cemetery
France
Grave Position: N.E. Plot. Row 5. Grave 2.
Private Memorial: Cleator Moor Roll of honour
View Cemetery RecordLinks & Resources
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