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Donal David Charles Stewart
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Born at Winnipeg on 8 May 1923, the only son of David Stewart and Kathleen Martha Robinson, he graduated grade 12 from Kelvin High School in 1940. When he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force on 9 July 1941, he was working as an apprentice sheet metal ‘helper’ for Macdonald Brothers Aircraft at Stevenson’s Airport.
He qualified as an Air Observer and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 21 August 1942. He proceeded overseas on 26 October 1942 and was promoted to the rank of Flight Sergeant on 21 February 1943. On 21 August 1943, he was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class II and, on 21 February 1944, to the rank of Warrant Officer Class I. On 12 April 1944, he joined 148 (Special Duties) Squadron at Brindisi, Italy.
On 4 July 1944, he departed Brindisi aboard Halifax aircraft JP286 on a special night operation with a crew of eight and four passengers. It failed to return. Halifax JP286 was seen to circle Mezocsokonya, northwest of Kapsovar, Hungary, before the pilot attempted a forced landing. On hitting the ground, the aircraft flipped over and burst into flames. Many small explosions were heard after the crash. Eight bodies were recovered from the wreckage and buried in the cemetery in Kazepnyres. The four SOE passengers had already been dropped, in the wrong place, and were captured within 24 hours.
He was buried in the Budapest War Cemetery in Hungary. In 1995, the Province of Manitoba named Donald(sic) Stewart Lake in his honour.
This page was prepared by Robert Nash.
Page revised: 27 May 2024
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