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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

William Harry Donovan

In memory of:

Pilot Officer William Harry Donovan

September 20, 1942

Military Service


Service Number:

J/9570

Age:

22

Force:

Air Force

Unit:

Royal Canadian Air Force

Division:

61 (R.A.F.) Sqdn

Additional Information


Son of William Henry and Dorothy Donovan, of Toronto, Ontario. Nephew of Rose Harvey, of Toronto.

Commemorated on Page 70 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:
Grave Reference:

Coll. grave 9. H. 18-22.

Location:

Rheinberg is 24 kilometres north of Krefeld and 13 kilometres south of Wesel, in the locality of Kamp Lintfort, Nordrhein-Westfal. The cemetery is 3 kilometres south of the centre of the town of Rheinberg on the road to Kamp Lintfort. From the motorway 57, turn off at Rheinberg and at the T junction follow the 510 in the direction Kamp Lintfort. The cemetery is a short way along this road on the right.

The site of Rheinberg War Cemetery was chosen in April 1946 by the Army Graves Service for the assembly of Commonwealth graves recovered from numerous German cemeteries in the area. The majority of those now buried in the cemetery were airmen, whose graves were brought in from Dusseldorf, Krefeld, Munchen-Gladbach, Essen, Aachen and Dortmund; 450 graves were from Cologne alone. The men of the other fighting services buried here mostly lost their lives during the battle of the Rhineland, or in the advance from the Rhine to the Elbe.

There are now 3,326 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried or commemorated at Rheinberg War Cemetery. 156 of the burials are unidentified. There are also nine war graves of other nationalities, most of them Polish.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Newspaper Clipping– Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of WILLIAM HARRY DONOVAN– In memory of the students from the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute  (Toronto) who went away to war and did not come home. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– In memory of the students from the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute  (Toronto) who went away to war and did not come home. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– In memory of the students from the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute  (Toronto) who went away to war and did not come home. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Badge– In memory of the students from the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute  (Toronto) who went away to war and did not come home. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Roll of honour– In memory of the students from the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute  (Toronto) who went away to war and did not come home. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Book of Remembrance– In memory of the students from the Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute  (Toronto) who went away to war and did not come home. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Memorial– Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Memorial– Pilot Officer William Harry Donovan is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Memorial– Pilot Officer William Harry Donovan is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Grave marker– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star October 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star April 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram October 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of William Harry Donovan– William at 16 OTU, RAF Upper Heyford, Course No.35 - April 1942
  • Photo of William Harry Donovan– William at 16 OTU, RAF Upper Heyford, Course No.35 - April 1942
  • Memorial– Borden Co.

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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