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Record Detail |
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| Full Name: |
Lieutenant Commander George James Macdonald |
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| Rank Last Held: |
Lieutenant Commander |
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| Forename(s): |
George James |
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| Surname: |
Macdonald |
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| Also Known As: |
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| War: |
World War II, 1939-1945 |
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| Gender: |
Male |
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| Date of Birth: |
30 September 1921 |
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| Place of Birth: |
Wellington, New Zealand |
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| First Known Rank: |
Ordinary Seaman |
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| Enlistment Date: |
1938 |
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| Age on Enlistment: |
17 |
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| Military District: |
Wellington |
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| Embarkation Unit: |
Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve |
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| Other Units: |
- DEMS Trienze
- DEMS Fordsdale
- Motor Torpedo Boat 14, Royal Navy
- Motor Torpedo Boat 31, Royal Navy
- Motor Torpedo Boat 241, Royal Navy
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| Military Training: |
- Officers course, HMS King Alfred, United Kingdom
- Coastal Forces Training, HMS St Christopher, United Kingdom
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| Campaigns: |
Atlantic |
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| Military Awards: |
- Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
- Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) and Two Bars
- 1939-45 Star
- Atlantic Star
- War Medal 1939-45
- New Zealand War Service Medal
- Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) Two Times
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| Award Circumstances: |
- DSO: New Zealand Gazette, 24 April 1945. "As senior officer of the 21st MTB Flotilla, temporary Sub-Lieutenant G.J. MacDonald handled Motor Torpedo Boats 225, 234 and 244 with great courage and skill on the night of 4-5 July 1944 in three gallant attempts to attack a heavily escorted enemy transport until it took refuge in port. On turning homeward the MTBs met a convoy of six ships and, though day had broken, in face of intense sank two by torpedoes and damaged two thers by gunfire." (Haigh & Polaschek, p385 - extracted from New Zealanders in the Royal Navy)
- DSC: Awarded March 1942. "MTB 31 had made a solo attack on a German convoy, sinking one ship, but the boat was then surrounded by enemy craft and set on fire. Macdonald supervised the placing of the wounded, including his CO, in a Carley float as they abandoned the vessel ... After a time the fire in the MTB abated and Macdonald swam back to board the MTB and fight the fire, enabling the boat to be saved." (Navy Today, No 109, p7)
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| Last Unit Served: |
Royal Navy, 21 Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla |
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| Place of Death: |
New Zealand |
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| Date of Death: |
22 January 1982 |
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| Age at Death: |
60 |
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| Year of Death: |
1982 |
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| Biographical Notes: |
- Served aboard Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS) Trienze and Fordsdale as a gunner, September 1939 - February 1941.
- Promoted to Midshipman, May 1941.
- Promoted to Sub-Lieutenant, 1942.
- Commanded Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) 241.
- Promoted to Lieutenant, 1 October 1942.
- Senior Officer of 21 MTB Flotilla, September 1943 - 1945.
- Married Third Officer Evelyn Mathieson, Womens Royal Naval Service, on 23 June 1945. They had one son and five daughters.
- Returned to New Zealand in 1946.
- Appointed City Engineer, Wellington, 1978.
- Won 1979 UDC Finance Inventor's Award, along with his co-inventor, for a stone-crushing machine.
- One of the three conference rooms at HQ Joint Forces New Zealand is named for Macdonald.
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| Postwar Occupation: |
Engineer, Wellington City Council |
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| Further References: |
- Scott, Peter. The Battle for the Narrow Seas. London: Countrly Life Ltd, c1946.
- 'Motor Torpedo Boat Ace', RNZN Navy Today, No 109, April 2006
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| Sources Used: |
Haigh, J., Polaschek, A. (compilers). (1993). New Zealand and the Distinguished Service Order. Christchurch, The Authors. |
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| Previous Military Experience: |
Joined Wellington Division, Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve, 1938. |
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