Air Marshal Sir David Grahame Donald, (27 July 1891 – 23 December 1976), often known as Sir Grahame Donald, was a

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

pilot during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) officer between the wars and a senior RAF commander during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In February 1939, Donald was appointed Director of Organisation at the Air Ministry. He was also a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international having represented

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

twice in 1914.

Early life

Grahame Donald was the son of Dr David Donald, and was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

"Flight" directory of British aviation – Page 43, Kelly's Directories, 1946 where he played in a school team that featured five future international rugby footballers. From Dulwich he went on to

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, and from there entered the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

in 1914 as a surgeon probationer. He served aboard a hospital ship, torpedo boat and a destroyer before transferring to the

Royal Navy Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

in 1916.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Whilst at Dulwich College he played in an unbeaten first XV in 1909 which contained five future internationals dubbed the 'Famous Five'. These five would all go on to play in the 1913

Varsity match A varsity match in Britain and Ireland is a fixture, especially of a sporting event or team, between university teams, usually the highest-level team, or varsity team, in that sport. The University Match in cricket between Oxford University an ...

(and also produced the captains of both

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1919), and all served in the

. They were

Eric Loudoun-Shand Eric Gordon Loudoun-Shand MC TD (born Eric Gordon Shand; 31 March 1893) was a Rugby Union international who played for Scotland and captained Oxford University's Rugby side in the 1919 Varsity Match. During what would have been the prime of hi ...

and Grahame Donald, who went on to play for Scotland, W. D. Doherty, who went on to play for and captain Ireland, J. E. Greenwood, who went on to play for and captain England, and the record-breaking

Cyril Lowe Cyril Nelson "Kid" Lowe, (7 October 1891 – 6 February 1983) was an English rugby union footballer who held England's international try scoring record for over sixty years, a First World War flying ace credited with nine victories, and suppose ...

Provincial career

Donald played for

Anglo-Scots Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British pe ...

on 27 December 1913. He played for

Blues Trial Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

against

Whites Trial White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

on 10 January 1914.

International career

From Oxford, Grahame Donald was selected in 1914 to play for Scotland, who he represented as a prop against Wales on 7 February, and Ireland on 28 February. His participation in the

and subsequent career in the military ended his international rugby career.

Military career

Donald also became famous for his miraculous escape from death having fallen from his

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

at in 1917. On a summer's afternoon he attempted a new manoeuvre in his Sopwith Camel and flew the machine up and over, and as he reached the top of his loop, hanging upside down, his safety belt snapped and he fell out. He was not wearing a parachute as a matter of policy. Incredibly, the Camel had continued its loop downwards, and Donald landed on its top wing. He grabbed it with both hands, hooked one foot into the cockpit and wrestled himself back in, struggled to take control, and executed "an unusually good landing". In an interview given 55 years later he explained, "The first 2,000 feet passed very quickly and terra firma looked damnably 'firma'. As I fell I began to hear my faithful little Camel somewhere nearby. Suddenly I fell back onto her." Eleven

aircraft based at Biorko,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, under the command of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

D. Grahame Donald stage a night-time raid on the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

naval base at

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

during the Baltic campaign of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. After the raid, Donald reports that "a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...

disappeared and was not seen again." He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 205 Squadron in 1920, Officer Commanding No. 3 Squadron and Station Commander at

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...

in 1921 before he moved on with his new squadron to

RAF Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a population of 81,952. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the west ...

the following year. He joined the Directing Staff at the

RAF Staff College, Andover The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. History Foundation Following the ...

, in 1924 and became Officer Commanding No. 201 Squadron in 1928. He went on to be Officer Commanding the School of Naval Co-operation in 1929, Officer Commanding No 1 (Indian Wing) Station at

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and then rejoined the Directing Staff, RAF Staff College in 1935. After a tour as instructor at the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in 1937 he became Director-General of Organisation, a post he held at the start of the

. He was made Deputy Air Member for Supply and Organisation in 1941 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

Maintenance Command Maintenance Command is a command of the Indian Air Force. It was raised as Maintenance Group at Chakeri in Kanpur in 1950. In 1955, it was designated as Maintenance Command. Its current headquarters is located at Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur (Maha ...

in 1942 before retiring in 1947.

Honours and awards

*3 June 1919 –

Mention in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

– "Capt. David Grahame Donald for valuable services rendered during the war (Coast Patrol)". *22 December 1919 – Distinguished Flying Cross – "Flight Lieutenant David Grahame Donald, AFC, in recognition of distinguished services rendered during the War and since the close of hostilities (BALTIC)". *1 July 1941 –

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

– "Air Vice-Marshal David Grahame Donald, DFC, AFC". *1 January 1944 –

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

– "Acting Air Marshal David Grahame Donald, CB, DFC, AFC, RAF".

Personal life

His first marriage was to Gwyneth Martin in 1916. They had a son, born 1917, Flight Lieutenant Ian David Grahame Donald, who was shot down off

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

in a

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter" to meet the RAF requirement for day and ...

and died in 1940, and a daughter,Jean who became a WAAF officer. After the death of his first wife he married Ailsa Stevenson in 1947 in October 1947, they had a daughter.

References

Bibliography

* - Total pages: 288 {{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Grahame 1891 births 1976 deaths Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of the Russian Civil War People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of University College, Oxford Royal Air Force air marshals Academics of the Royal College of Defence Studies Royal Naval Air Service aviators Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Rugby union props Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players Oxford University RFC players Anglo-Scots