December 27, 2025.  While in Belgium during our 2025 European War Memorial Tour, we were joined by Pieter’s cousin François Breugelmans and his wife Mieke de Bie.  We visited Zonnebeke and were successful in finding the location of the original burial of WWI soldier Vincent Earl CARR of Prince Edward Island who was killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917.  (See https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2025/12/22/on-the-war-memorial-trail-the-search-for-the-trench-where-wwi-soldier-vincent-carr-was-originally-buried/)

Our fearless foursome continued on the Belgian portion of our trip, this time to honour a Manitoba-born WWII soldier…..

….Request from a Belgian researcher…

In September 2024, Belgian researcher Patrick Michiels had written us, asking for help in finding a photo of Donald David MacKenzie TAYLOR. Patrick explained that “…Corporal Taylor, of the Royal Canadian Air Force, died on 7th November 1944 whilst the ship he was on, LST-420, hit a mine near the harbour of Ostend (Belgium).  Donald is buried in the Ostende New Communal Cemetery and was 26 when he died….”  LST refers to Landing Ship, Tank. (See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Ship,_Tank)  

“….I’m taking care of the adoption in the Ostende New Communal Cemetery of the graves of WWI and WWII…” soldiers, and he explained that, in addition to Taylor, there were 9 more Canadians buried in this cemetery.   

Pieter agreed to try and find a family member who might have a photo.  The research began….

….A photo was found through a nephew and great-niece…

Born February 4, 1918 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Donald was the son of James and Mary (nee MacKenzie) Taylor, who were both born in Scotland.  Donald’s father was an RCMP officer and the family moved to Saskatchewan five months after his birth.

Donald had a brother James, and a sister Mary Christina, who married Harold Emerson Reesor.  It was through Mary’s son Ronald and Ronald’s daughter Alyna that a photo of Donald was provided.

….Donald trained as a radio mechanic with the RCAF…

At the time of his enlistment on September 30, 1941 with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in Regina, Saskatchewan, Donald had already been serving in the militia, as a rifleman with the Regina Rifles Reserve since July 1940.  He was a high school graduate and was employed as a statistician with the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan.  Donald noted that he enjoyed swimming, and occasionally played baseball and tennis. He stated that he had tried to enlist in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR), but had been considered medically unfit due to ‘defective vision’. 

A trades test during his initial interview with the RCAF found him suitable for a Radio Mechanic.  As an Air Craftsman 2nd Class, he was sent to No. 3 Manning Depot in Edmonton, Alberta for his initial training. 

On December 29, 1941, Donald was next sent to the RCAF Detachment of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for courses in Fundamental Radio Theory and Applied Radio Theory, which he successfully completed on April 15, 1942.

Promoted to Leading Air Craftsman (LAC), Donald next was sent to No. 1 Toronto Manning Depot in Toronto, Ontario for a few days before being posted to No. 31 Radio School, Royal Air Force, in Clinton, Ontario for further training. 

….Donald continued his training in Clinton …

On April 27, 1942, Donald began several written and practical courses in Radio Mechanics in Clinton.  The innocuous sounding Radio School was also called the RDF School, and was a secret high-tech school. RDF was the acronym for Radio Direction Finding, but in reality Clinton was training its students in the new technology of Radar (RAdio Direction And Ranging).  Radar had already been used in the United Kingdom to track German aircraft during the London Blitz in the winter of 1941‑42.  Students at Clinton learned the principles of radar and were given hands‑on training.

After successfully completing his courses on June 5, 1942, it was recommended that Donald be “…retained to take a further course of Radio Mechanic Training with a view to being Commissioned, if technically suitable…”  He remained in Clinton until August 9, 1942.

….Donald left Canada for overseas service….

Donald was scheduled to take another course in Clinton, which was to begin on August 6, 1942, but a note in his service file stated that this was cancelled.  Instead he was given embarkation leave, the last time he would see his family before going overseas.

After his leave ended on August 26, 1942, he was posted to No. 31 Personnel Depot (PD) Moncton, a holding station just outside Moncton, New Brunswick, for personnel who were being posted elsewhere. The RCAF Moncton site is now the Greater Moncton Romeo LeBlanc International Airport, which we have flown out of several times over the years! 

Donald left Moncton on September 23, 1942 for the journey to United Kingdom, where he arrived on October 7, 1942.  He was immediately posted to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) in Bournemouth, the main transit hub for incoming Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) crew.

….Donald received intensive training in radar….

Once he had a chance to get oriented in England, his training continued.  He was first sent to No 75 Signals Wing at Biggin Hill on August 28, 1942, a Royal Air Force (RAF) unit that focused on radar and signals intelligence. It was part of No. 60 Group, which specialized in airborne interception (AI) radar and signals for night fighters. 

On March 3, 1943, Donald was posted to White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire, the headquarters for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), a civilian organization that ferried thousands of RAF warplanes between factories and front lines.

A few weeks later, he was sent on a short detachment to Renscombe Down, near Swanage in Dorset, a site that provided radar training and operations. It was a training ground for the mobile radar units that would play a critical role in the D-Day landings and later in Northwest Europe.

Donald received another promotion on April 1, 1943, to Technical Corporal (T/Cpl). 

On April 12, 1943, Donald was posted to RAF Chigwell in Essex, which was used in testing and training of communication equipment.  While at Chigwell, he was sent to No. 9 Radio School at the Royal Air Force Yatesbury for additional radar training.  His training continued at several more bases, including the radar station in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, and Great Malvern which specialized in radar research.

….A decision was made to move No. 1 BSRU from England to Belgium….

On April 24, 1944, Donald was transferred to No. 1 Base Signals and Radar Unit (BSRU), a unit responsible for the maintenance and repair of the vital radar installations used for air defence and operations. With personnel that had been extensively trained, No. 1 BSRU remained in Essex, England as Allied forces advanced through France and into Belgium, until a more permanent base of operations could be established closer to the front lines in North West Europe.  Instead, smaller Mobile Signals Servicing Units (MSSU) handled maintenance after the D-Day landings. 

After Ghent, Belgium was liberated on September 6, 1944, a decision was made to move No. 1 BSRU from Essex to Ghent and to set up workshops for repairing radar equipment in the field. It proved to be a fatal decision.

….An ill-fated crossing on November 7, 1944 turned into a disaster….

On November 7, 1944, a small convoy of landing ship tanks (LSTs) carrying No.1 BSRU personnel, vehicles, and equipment crossed the English Channel during terrible weather conditions.  However, when the convoy reached the Belgian coast along the North Sea, authorities refused permission to enter the port at Ostend due to a rising storm and fears of blocking the crucial supply line.

The convoy altered course back towards England, planning to shelter overnight in the Thames Estuary before returning to Ostend on the following day.  However, the bow section of LST-420, which Donald was on, struck a German mine near the harbour.  It tore a large hole in the ship’s hull, causing it to break into two pieces. The ship’s galley fires were lit at the time due to the evening meal being prepared and petrol from damaged fuel tanks of the vehicles being transported caught fire, enveloping the stern section of the ship in flames.

The ship sank rapidly, and rescue efforts were hampered as, due to heavy seas, only larger vessels were able to attempt to rescue survivors in the water. This resulted in a massive loss of life, with over 200 men from the RAF and RCAF attached to No. 1 BSRU lost, many of whose bodies were never recovered.  Just over 30 were rescued. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_LST-420)

…. Donald was buried at Ostende New Communal Cemetery ….

Donald was one of the men who drowned on November 7, 1944, aged 26. Unlike so many of the casualties, Donald’s body was found.  A November 25, 1944 letter to his father from Wing Commander G. W. EMEERY explained that “…the greater part of the company, including the Commanding Officer, was lost. Your son’s body was washed ashore on the Continent, where it was taken to Ostend and buried with military honours in the Communal Cemetery, Rue Dernier, Ostend…”

…. We visited Ostende New Communal Cemetery….

During our 2025 European War Memorial Tour, we visited Donald’s grave at Ostende New Communal Cemetery, and Pieter placed flags of Canada and Manitoba at his grave.

 

 …. We visited the North Sea coastline near Ostend….

From the cemetery we drove towards the coast to take a photo of the North Sea.  The beaches in Ostend weren’t accessible so we went a bit further to Westeinde where there was a pedestrian walking area on the Koning Ridderdijk boardwalk, as well as rows of beach huts.  It was very built up and not at all like it would have looked on November 7, 1944, but the North Sea still looks the same.  It was a calm day, unlike what Donald and the No. 1 BSRU convoy would have faced on that fatal day.

….Other Canadian soldiers buried in Ostende New Communal Cemetery…

Also buried in Ostende New Communal Cemetery are 7 WWII soldiers and 2 WWI Canadian soldiers…

• John Clarence BRUSH, son of John A. L. and Ethel Brush, of Windsor, Ontario, died February 14, 1945, age 18, while serving with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve as an Ordinary Telegraphist aboard HM Canadian Motor Torpedo Boat 465 (WWII)
• Albert James CROSS, son of Minnie Cross, of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, died February 14, 1945, age 19,  while serving with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve as an Able Seaman aboard HM Canadian Motor Torpedo Boat 465 (WWII)
• George Walter DOVE, son of George and Gladys E. Dove, husband of Orma M. Dove, of Toronto, Ontario, died April 5, 1945, while serving with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve as a Stoker 1st Class aboard H.M.C.S. Niobe (WWII)
• Gordon Leroy ELLSWORTH, son of Roy Mac. Ellsworth and Marietta Ellsworth, of Port Colborne, Ontario, died September 10, 1942, age 22, while serving as Flight Sergeant in 158 (R.A.F.) Squadron with the Royal Canadian Air Force (WWII)
• Ralph Reginald MACRAE, son of Major Herbert Hudson and Sarah Maria MacRae, of Campbellton, New Brunswick, died February 14, 1945, age 21, while serving with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve as a Leading Seaman aboard HM Canadian Motor Torpedo Boat 461 (WWII)
• William James MARSHALL, son of Thomas and Catherine (nee Fraser) Marshall, aged 21, of Vancouver, British Columbia, died November 7, 1944, while serving as Sergeant with the Royal Canadian Air Force (WWII)
• Eldon Sydney STEWARDSON, son of Gordon and Margaret T. Stewardson, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, died November 1, 1944, age 22, while serving as Sergeant with the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (WWII)
• Curtis Matthew DE ROCHIE, son of Mr Curtis and Mrs De Rochie, of Cornwall, Ontario, died July 14, 1917, age 31, while serving as 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Flying Corps 27th Squadron (WWI)
• George Gordon MACLENNAN, son of Reverend Alexander and Catherine MacLennan of Owen Sound, Ontario, died July 21, 1917, age 30, while serving as Flight Commodore with the Royal Naval Air Service (WWI)

Thank you to Ron Reesor and Alyna Reesor for submitting a photo of their uncle and grand-uncle, to Shawn Rainville for helping to find family members through newspaper searches, and to James Reesor for providing family history information. Thank you also to François Breugelmans and Mieke de Bie for joining us on the Belgian portion of our visit.

Our adventures continue as we share the highlights of our 2025 European War Memorial Tour. 

If you have a story or photo to share, please contact Pieter at memorialtrail@gmail.com or comment on the blog. 

© Daria Valkenburg

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