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Donald was the son of William M. and Margaret I. Mathewson, of Kokonga, Otago, New Zealand. He
had a farming background, studying farm mechanics first before working in the field prior to his military
enlistment. He married Violet Jessie Mathewson, of Palmerston North, Wellington, New Zealand.
Military Service:
Donald enlisted at the Initial Training Wing in Rotorus on 26th February 1942. He embarked for Canada
shortly afterwards to train under the Empire Air Training Scheme and he arrived on 17th May 1942. He
was posted to No. 6 Air Observers School in June that year, and then in September to No.1 Air
NAvigation School in Manitoba. His next posting was the Bombing and Gunnery School and here he
was awarded the Air Navigators Badge and was promoted to Sergeant. Continuing to move around,
his next stop was the UK and he arrived in the reception centre in Brighton on 18th April 1943 and
shortly after started his training on Whitley Aircraft. There was an incident on 13th July 1943 when his
plane crashed near Lundy Island off the Devon coast. Fortunately all the crew survived and managed to
make it ashore in a dingy and despite some minor injuries, resumed duties after a few days of rest. In
February 1944 he converted again, this time to Stirling Aircraft and on 17th of that month was posted
to No. 190 Squadron, flying Stirling IV LJ982 L9-N, based out of RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire. With
the squadron he took part in twenty operational flights including sixteen supply sorties over occupied
France and Belgium, a glider towing flight on D-Day over Normandy and another two glider tows to the
Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden. It was a re-supply mission as part of this operation
that was to prove fatal for Donald. On 21st September his aircraft failed to return and all the crew were
reported as missing. Later reports indicated that the aircraft, along with others, had crashed near Zetten
and Warrant Officer Mathewson was buried in the churchyard there. He was later re-interred in the
airborne cemetery at Oosterbeek near Arnhem. In total he flew 594 hours as a navigator across his
service.
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