14305917 Gunner Douglas Leslie DONACHIE, 88 HAA Regiment, RA : 03/03/1944. italy

hi there,have just registerd on this forum and hopefully find some help.my grandfather was killed in italy during ww2,my mother untill a few years ago never knew where he was buried.i found out thanks to the help from major pj arber from woolwich military academy.i have been trying to research where and which conflict my grandfather was in when he was killed i am hoping to make a trip to italy sometime this year to visit my grandfather,but would like more research before i go. his name was douglas leslie donachie.died 3.3.1944.gnr RA14305917.he was serving with 88HAA Regt RA.and is buried in bari war cemetry.this unfortunatly is all i know,apart from finding out his brother also was killed in ww2 thats my next research.any help or information greatly recieved no matter how small. many thanks,steve.

 

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place for help and information. I'm sure someone will have something for you soon.

Another Steve also born in 1964.

 

Steve Welcome to the Forum

DONACHIE, DOUGLAS LESLIE

Rank:
Gunner
Service No:
14305917
Date of Death:
03/03/1944
Regiment/Service:
Royal Artillery

88 H.A.A. Regt.
Grave Reference
VI. A. 24.
Cemetery
BARI WAR CEMETERY
Additional Information:
Son of Crawford and May Edith Donachie; husband of Mary Ann Donachie, of Stamshaw, Portsmouth.
CWGC - Casualty Details

His Brother

DONACHIE, ERIC CRAWFORD

Rank:
Gunner
Service No:
854663
Date of Death:
12/09/1944
Age:
25
Regiment/Service:
Royal Artillery

3 H.A.A. Regt.
Panel Reference
Column 17.
Memorial
SINGAPORE MEMORIAL
Additional Information:
Son of C.Q.M.S. Crawford Donachie, and of May Edith Donachie, of Southsea, Hampshire.
CWGC - Casualty Details


regards
Clive

 

His brother was a POW to the Japanese and originally surrendered at the fall of Singapore. He will have what is called a Japanese index card at the National Archives in London.

Here he is on the Cofepow data base of FEPOW's:

Record Details

 

hi steve,

welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place for help and information. I'm sure someone will have something for you soon.

Another steve also born in 1964.
yep,born in 64-only a kid! Lets hope so,new to this researching,and me laptop so excuse any errors!

 

war diary ref number at national archives.

wo 166/2379
anti-aircraft command: Heavy anti-aircraft regiments: 88 heavy anti-aircraft regiment (haa).
Covering dates 1939 aug.-1941 may

wo 169/1582
royal artillery: 88 heavy anti-aircraft regiment (haa regt ra)
covering dates 1941 june- dec.

wo 169/4807
88 h.a.a. Regt.
Covering dates 1942 jan.- dec.

wo 169/9846
88 h.a.a. Regt.
Covering dates 1943 jan.- dec.

wo 170/1151
heavy anti-aircraft regiments: 88 regt
covering dates 1944 jan.- sept.
many thanks,you gonna keep me busy!

 

steve welcome to the forum

donachie, douglas leslie

rank:
Gunner
service no:
14305917
date of death:
03/03/1944
regiment/service:
Royal artillery

88 h.a.a. Regt.
Grave reference
vi. A. 24.
Cemetery
bari war cemetery
additional information:
Son of crawford and may edith donachie; husband of mary ann donachie, of stamshaw, portsmouth.
cwgc - casualty details

his brother

donachie, eric crawford

rank:
Gunner
service no:
854663
date of death:
12/09/1944
age:
25
regiment/service:
Royal artillery

3 h.a.a. Regt.
Panel reference
column 17.
Memorial
singapore memorial
additional information:
Son of c.q.m.s. Crawford donachie, and of may edith donachie, of southsea, hampshire.
cwgc - casualty details


regards
clive
thanks clive,only been on forum an hour and got so much info already.

 

his brother was a pow to the japanese and originally surrendered at the fall of singapore. He will have what is called a japanese index card at the national archives in london.

Here he is on the cofepow data base of fepow's:

record details
many thanks again.done a bit of research regarding eric,my grandfathers brother.he was a japanese pow on the ship kachidoki maru,this was torpedoed by us submarine pampanito.900 british pow,s on board but unfortunately he was one of 400 killed.

 

Steve 1964
bit odd to have a burial in Bari in March of 1944 as the main fighting was at Cassino at that time - which is a long way from Bari - unless of course the Luftwaffe managed a raid on the Main Port of Bari - would be interesting to see what casualties his unit suffered about that time from their war diary
Cheers

 

Steve.

Like Tom, I think it odd that he was killed in Bari on 3 Mar 44.

The best thing to do is link up with Drew 5233 and get the War Diaries for the period that your grandfather died. If the unit location is different from Bari then he was probably injured earlier but died in a Bari hospital.

If it turns out that 84 HAA Regt RA was at Cassino, come back to me.

Regards

FdeP

 

I have the 84 HAA diaries here, will do a look up for you for March 1944.


Edit scrub that, I see it is 88 HAA diary, not 84 that's needed. (I've only got April 44 for the 88 HAA but will check that to see where they were).

Lee

 

My Dad was hospitalised at Bari after being injured on Monte Castellone in April 1944 so Bari, despite being over a hundred miles away from the front, was clearly one of the prime points of evacuation during that period.

best

 

At the beginning of April 1944, 88 HAA were at Lanciano, about 175 miles from Bari.

 

Details of the Bari War Cemetery from CWGC:

Historical Information

On 3 September 1943 the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland began with landing in the south near Reggio and, a few days later, in the Gulf of Salerno. The invasion coincided with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Allied objectives were to draw German troops from the Russian front and more particularly from France, where an offensive was planned for the following year.

The site of Bari War Cemetery was chosen in November 1943. There was no serious fighting in the vicinity of the town, which was the Army Group headquarters during the early stages of the Italian campaign, but it continued to be an important supply base and hospital centre, with the 98th General Hospital stationed there from October 1943 until the end of the war. At various times, six other general hospitals were stationed at Trani and Barletta, about 48 km away.

Besides garrison and hospital burials, the cemetery contains graves brought in from a wide area of south-eastern Italy, from the 'heel' right up to the 'spur'. Here too are buried men who died in two disastrous explosions in the harbour at Bari, when ammunition ships exploded in December 1943 (during a German air raid) and April 1945.

Bari War Cemetery contains 2,128 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 170 of them unidentified. There are also some non war burials and war graves of other nationalities.

The cemetery also contains 85 First World War burials, brought in from Brindisi Communal Cemetery in 1981. Most of these burials are of officers and men of the Adriatic drifter fleet which had close associations with Brindisi during the First World War.



Steve's grandad is the only member of 88 HAA in the Bari War Cemetery (although there are 8 members of the RA with no additional information regarding which element to whic they were attached).

Roxy

 

Steve,

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Good luck with your research.

Regards
Tom

 

Steve
makes more sense to have died in one of the Hospitals at Bari as I too spent some time
there having been evacuated from Ancona during the Gothic Line Battles as the CCS at Ancona was overwhelmed with casualties - and Bari had more than 3000 beds available
- mostly full - and so I was further shipped down to Catania in Sicily for surgery
Cheers

 

Many thanks for the information recieved from you all. Unbelievable, the only 88haa buried in bari. Further research needed i think.
Thanks again
steve

 

Dear Tom
I'm Tracey- Ted Doyle MM daughter. my Dad, he died recently & a bit of an issue I spotted, you may have read! regardless- I know Dad was injured on the Githic line Aug/Sept 1944 & I know he had a few 'operations' in Italy & he mentioned Bari.
Is it possible to get records from his hospitalisation in Italy?
He sailed back on a hospital ship the Oranjie- ive got details of hospitals in the UK etc but id just like to ask, is it something I could go looking for. im really interested in who the medical lot where because, they did a fantastic job on my Dad- he was very lucky as they discovered early stages of cancer & removed his lung.He lived 90 years with just one. Thanks

 

Meant to add that Dad was hit by Tiger tank whilst on the Gothic Line. Regards