Private John Donaldson
Service Number 5304
Campaign:
World War 1
Died:
18.5.1915
2SG
Aged 30
Commemorated at Le Touret Memorial, France. Panel 3 & 4
Son of William and Elizabeth Brown Donaldson, of Aberdeenshire; husband of Alexandrina Donaldson, of Kinloch Schoolhouse, Blairgowrie, Perthshire.
John Donaldson was born on the 28th of June 1884 at Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire. His father was a Farm Servant. He was educated in the local area. On leaving school he worked on farms as a labourer.
On the 4th of March 1904, John joined the 2nd Battalion of the Scots Guards. He enlisted at Dundee and was allocated the service number 5304.
He served with the army until he was place on the reserve lists in 1909, when he joined Lanarkshire Constabulary, stationed at Baillieston.
On the 29th of April 1910 he married Alexandrina Morrison, a 24-year-old School Teacher, from Skene in Aberdeenshire. They married at The Douglas Hotel, Market Street, Aberdeen. They went on to have three children, two girls and a boy.
In 1911, he was transferred to Motherwell, living at 220 Merry Street and in 1913 he was transferred to Bothwell Haugh, living at Brandon Place.
Shortly after the outbreak of World War 1 John immediately re-joined ‘The Colours’, on the 6th of August 1914, once again posted to the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards. He received initial training and on the 5th of October 1914 arrived in France.
John participated in the early battles at Ypres and various locations in France.
On the 16th of May 1915, the Battalion moved to Festubert on the Western Front. This was a major attack for the 2nd Battalion which, in general, went well. However, ‘F’ Company, on the left flank were not so successful and that meant that the 2nd Battalion’s flank was heavily exposed. ‘F’ Company was one of the leading companies. They got well ahead of everyone else, lost direction and were then counterattacked from three sides and surrounded. The company would not surrender to the enemy and fought to the death against overwhelming numbers at close quarters. 80 officers and men were killed in this action, once of whom was John Donaldson.
In total, the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards lost 10 officers and 399 other ranks.
Memorial(s):
| Country | Location | Name of Memorial | Campaign | Names | Date(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | Quadrangle of the Police buildings Police Station Beckford Street Hamilton Hamilton Strathclyde ML3 0AA | Lanarkshire Constabulary War Memorial | World War 1 |
John Donaldson | 18-5-1915 | View |
Further information:
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- Who or what formation of the Regiment is named on the memorial. What event, dates or other inscriptions on the memorial.
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Please sent any information that you find to: Michael Campbell-Lamerton
As the information on the database builds up Michael Campbell-Lamerton will be sending regular updates to Archives at RHQ who remains the point of contact about for inquiries on past members of the Regiment.
