Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search veterans.gc.ca

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Walter Lerne MacDonald

In memory of:

Second Engineer Walter Lerne MacDonald

December 16, 1916
East of, Malta

Military Service

Age:

34

Force:

Merchant Navy

Unit:

Canadian Merchant Navy

Division:

S.S. Westminster (London, England) (120634)

Additional Information

Born:

July 3, 1882
Saint John, New Brunswick

Son of John Angus MacDonald, a sea captain, and Rosella Mary Coady of Saint John, New Brunswick. Rosella died at sea en route to Great Britain and her body was returned to the ocean. Brother of John Angus MacDonald, conscripted into the U.S. Army on 29 August 1942, service number 2402. He did not see action in the Second World War.

On 14 December 1916, the Westminster was torpedoed without warning and sunk by UB-43 196 miles (315 km) east of Malta, in the Mediterranean, position 35°35'N/18°23'E. Fourteen sailors were killed. The submarine surfaced and machine-gunned the survivors. The captain and chief engineer were murdered and their boat sunk. The second and third engineers were not recovered and were never seen again.

Commemorated on Page 45 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information

Cemetery:

TOWER HILL MEMORIAL
London, United Kingdom

Grave Reference:

N/A

Location:

THE TOWER HILL MEMORIAL stands on the South side of the garden of Trinity Square, a hundred yards East of Mark Lane Station, and just within the boundaries of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney and the Liberty of the Tower. It is at the hub of maritime England. Behind it are Trinity House and the offices of the Port of London Authority, and the Thames stretches before it; the wide space of Great Tower Hill, leading down from it to the river, is the traditional forum of merchant seamen and their fellow workers. Lloyd's is on the North, the Custom House and Billingsgate Market are near it on the West, and beyond the Tower, Eastwards, is the long line of the Docks the greatest dock system in the world.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Memorial– His name as it is inscribed on the Tower Hill Memorial. The 480 fallen Canadians lost at sea, are honoured on this Memorial. May they never be forgotten. (J. Stephens)

    Details

    Memorial
    Memorial – His name as it is inscribed on the Tower Hill Memorial. The 480 fallen Canadians lost at sea, are honoured on this Memorial. May they never be forgotten. (J. Stephens)
  • Memorial– The tower Hill Memorial is located in London, England at Tower Hill and across from the Tower of London. This Memorial is dedicated to the 50,700 Commonwealth merchant seamen, fishing fleet workers and other on-board crew lost during the First World War. Included on this list are the 480 Canadians that gave their lives in the cause of the Great War. (J. Stephens)

    Details

    Memorial
    Memorial – The tower Hill Memorial is located in London, England at Tower Hill and across from the Tower of London. This Memorial is dedicated to the 50,700 Commonwealth merchant seamen, fishing fleet workers and other on-board crew lost during the First World War. Included on this list are the 480 Canadians that gave their lives in the cause of the Great War. (J. Stephens)
  • Photo of Walter MacDonald– Walter Macdonald, born July 3, 1882 in Saint John, NB. He was a second engineer about the Merchant Navy steamship the S.S. Westminster. The ship was torpedoed off the coast of Malta by the infamous U-Boat UB-43, which claimed more than 20 vessels during WW1. Walter's father was Capt. Angus Macdonald of Saint John. Angus was the grandfather of former Cabinet Minister and Liberal Party chief Donald S. Macdonald, who was living in Toronto.

    Details

    Photo of Walter MacDonald
    Photo of Walter MacDonald – Walter Macdonald, born July 3, 1882 in Saint John, NB. He was a second engineer about the Merchant Navy steamship the S.S. Westminster. The ship was torpedoed off the coast of Malta by the infamous U-Boat UB-43, which claimed more than 20 vessels during WW1. Walter's father was Capt. Angus Macdonald of Saint John. Angus was the grandfather of former Cabinet Minister and Liberal Party chief Donald S. Macdonald, who was living in Toronto.

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.

Date modified: