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In memory of:

Private Douglas Botterill McDonald

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Military service

Service number: K/54559
Age: 20
Rank: Private
Force: Army
Unit/Regiment: Canadian Scottish Regiment, R.C.I.C.
Birth: August 7, 1924 Ashcroft, British Columbia
Enlistment: August 5, 1943 British Columbia
Death: August 15, 1944 France

Burial/memorial information

BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY
Grave reference: XX. A. 12.
Additional information
Son of Ervin Austin McDonald and Hanna Blanche (née Botterill)McDonald, of Robson, British Columbia. Pte Douglas McDonald was the brother of Elaine, Ruth and James (Jim). Douglas spent the first 5 years of his life on the 2240 acre family ranch on Lac des Roches in the Cariboo district of British Columbia. The family then moved to Trail, Fruitvale and Robson where he attended school in each place. His nickname was 'Butch'. Douglas loved the outdoors. He was athletic and a good worker. He like to fish, skate and play hockey when there were enough boys to make two teams. Sometimes there would only be 4 or 5 boys on a team -- but, they would enthusiastically play hockey. He spent hours by himself practicing shooting pucks into a goal. Since this happened in small towns in the 1930's and early 1940's, all skating was done outside either on a large creek or on a home-made ice rink. Douglas also loved to box, which he started when he was about twelve years old. He enjoyed playing badminton and softball and helping care for the farm animals and chickens. When he was seventeen years of age, he built a small, one-room 'log cabin' using small trees about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. He even built a 'pole' roof for his cabin. He did all the work himself with instructions from his father. He showed himself to be an industrious young man, and obviously was a great loss to his family and community.

Related media

Second World War (1939 – 1945)

In the Books of Remembrance

Commemorated on:

Page 384 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY Calvados, France

This cemetery lies on the west side of the main road from Caen to Falaise (route N158) and just north of the village of Cintheaux. Bretteville-sur-Laize is a village and commune in the department of the Calvados, some 16 kilometres south of Caen. The village of Bretteville lies 3 kilometres south-west of the Cemetery. Buried here are those who died during the later stages of the battle of Normandy, the capture of Caen and the thrust southwards (led initially by the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Armoured Divisions), to close the Falaise Gap, and thus seal off the German divisions fighting desperately to escape being trapped west of the Seine. Almost every unit of Canadian 2nd Corps is represented in the Cemetery. There are about 3,000 allied forces casualties of the Second World War commemorated in this site.

For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

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