William Macdonald, 21 Marvig

Stornoway Gazette, 14 June 1940
Last week further news was received of Lewis casualties in the fighting at Dunkirk. On Saturday, Mr George Macdonald, Marvig, received word that his son, William, had been killed in action. Earlier in the week, William had been reported missing.

He was serving on HMT "Blackburn Rovers", sunk at Dunkirk. The skipper of the "Blackburn Rovers", William Martin, 14 Manor Park, better known in peacetime as skipper of the "Windfall", was seriously wounded in the engagement. He is in hospital in England.

Much sympathy is felt for Mr Macdonald and his family in their loss. They have had an anxious time since the outbreak of war. Last November, a younger brother, Hector, was reported missing after the sinking of the Rawalpindi. Then came news that he was a prisoner in Germany.

A third brother in this family, George Macdonald, was also a naval reservist, but he injured his back in a shipping accident at Buenos Aires and is at present in Lewis Sanatorium.

William Macdonald, who was 28 years of age, was a very cheery personality, popular in his home village and also in Stornoway where he worked for some years with the late Mr David Tolmie. After leaving his Stornoway employment, William joined the Merchant Service and was on a voyage to Hong Kong when war was declared. It was towards the end of last year before he was able to join his naval unit.

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