212819 Pte. William Alexander Donald British Army 7th Btn. Kings Royal Rifle Corps from:Leamington Spa, Warwickshire (d.15th Sep 1916) William Alexander Donald born 1886, was working as a footman before joining the KRRC in August 1914, he went out to France in May 1915, he was Cpt Morice St Aubyn's Batman.
The following is an extract from a newspaper cutting which his sister kept in between the pages of her diary:
"Mr. & Mrs Donald have been informed that their son, Rifleman William Donald, has been posted as wounded and missing after an engagement on the 15th ult. William enlisted at the outbreak of war and went to France the following March. Captain St Aubyn, who was wounded at the same time, writes as follows to Mrs. Donald "I am afraid that there is now no alternative but to presume that your son was killed in action on September the 15th, he was my servant for over a year, he was always cheerful even when things were most uncomfortable, when I was wounded he assisted me back to the nearest trench, which was a few hundred yards distant. We crossed the open ground all right and were within a few yards of the trench when he was hit by a bullet, which went through his back, it must have pierced his lung. Regular medical parties come up as soon as possible after a position has been captured, and had he been alive when they arrived they would have brought him in."
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