Captain, later S/L, Peter Drummond MacDonald was a Canadian veteran of WWI(Captain).He was later a member of the British Parliament. Shortly after war was declared, MacDonald was given the rank of P/O and appointed Adjutant of 242 Squadron. He and the largely Canadian squadron were in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. I have some of his Cape Breton background but none from his early days in the army(CEF) nor of his university days(Cambridge/Law). Was he a good MP?(Conservative) I'm interested in any information, even if by chance I already have it. Thanks. (Floyd Williston)footless@mts.net A new boy to this forum from eastern Canada.
Welcome to the forum Floyd. Have you tried putting Sir Peter Drummond MacDonald's name into a search engine? A lot of his speeches that he made while an MP for the Isle of Wright are recorded on an external link on Wikipedia. On the National Portrait Gallery website there is a picture of him. Lots on there as well about 242 Squadron which was Douglas Bader's first command. Do you have the Squadron number he was part of during WW1? Sniper
Thanks Sniper. Yes, I probably have more than most researchers have on 242 Squadron. However, because MacDonald wasn't a pilot, he gets very little mention in the squadron's Operations Record Book(ORB). In WWI he served with Dalhousie University No. 7 Stationary Hospital. : (Shorncliffe Military Hospital 10 Jan 1916 to 16 Jun 1916; le Havre 19 Jun 1916 to 30 Dec 1916; Harfleur 31 Dec 1916 to 13 May 1917; Arques 14 may 1917 to 18 Apr 1918; Etaples (closed) 19 Apr 1918 to 23 may 1918; Rouen 24 May 1918 to 21 Sep 1918; Camiers 22 Sep 1918 to 23 Feb 1919.)He may also have been in 85th Bn (Nova Scotia Highlanders). He was wounded twice and was treated at Shorncliffe Military Hospital.
Hi Floyd, Have you checked out the Veterans Affairs website to see where he joined and into what Bn? The Canadains do have a their attestation papers online which is more useful than what the Brits have. Have you tried to get his service record? The Canucks are pretty good and it won't take you long to recieve it either. Sniper
Thanks again Sniper. I'm now in the process of getting MacDonald's service files which should also include some references to his RAF service as well. (Floyd)
