I
just discovered my great-uncle's WWII service record on Ancestry.ca,
and noticed that he took his final posting 74 years ago this weekend,
on May 29 1942. To honour him, and share information about his life
and death with family across the country, this entry is about Dougie
McIntosh.
 |
| Dougie McIntosh. Personal Collection, Gale (MacIntosh) Stevenson. |
Douglas
McIntosh (sometimes MacIntosh) was known to me as
my grandfather's brother, Dougie. Growing up, the extent of my
knowledge was that he was from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, had served in
WWII, and was buried in Newfoundland. In the past few years, I've
located his grave in Botwood, Newfoundland, and paid my respects on
multiple occasions, knowing that I am one of very few family members
to have ever been there.
Dougie's
military record says he was born 1 Aug 1910, however family
information is that he was actually born in 1907, which seems to be
corroborated by the 1911 Canada census when “Dougall McIntosh”
was recorded as being 3 years old. He was the fourth of eleven
children born to Angus McIntosh and Sarah Elizabeth McGillivray, both
formerly of Northside East Bay, Cape Breton, but then residing in
Glace Bay. Angus and Sarah were of Catholic Scottish descent, as both
of their families left Scotland during the Highland clearances in the
late 1700s. According to the 1911 census, they both spoke English and
Gaelic, but unfortunately didn't pass Gaelic onto their children.
According
to my grandfather Rannie, he and most of his brothers were athletic
growing up. Newspaper clippings in a scrapbook in Pop's house show
smiling McIntosh boys, including Dougie, in team photos for hockey
and football.
Like
many young men of a certain age, Dougie enlisted for WWII in Sydney
in 1940. His occupation at the time of enlistment was mechanic, and
he was single with no dependants. His widowed mother Sarah was listed
as his next of kin. His service record provides that he was 5'7, 135
lbs, with a “linear scar, left side neck-back”, and had grey eyes
and brown hair with a fair complexion. His record also indicates that
he was transferred between regiments and batteries a few times before
his final posting to Newfoundland.
 |
| Douglas McIntosh service record page 3. From Ancestry.ca. |
So
how did Dougie come to be in Newfoundland? Newfoundland did not join
Canada until 1949, so it was considered an overseas posting. Gander,
Newfoundland, was a popular refueling stop for many aircraft heading
across the Atlantic. Naturally, the airport itself needed a supply of
fuel, which was brought in by ship to Lewisporte, and transported
from there to Gander. Because of this strategic importance to the
Canadian and British war effort, Lewisporte was under guard by
Canadian forces, including Douglas McIntosh. According to his service
record, he was posted to Newfoundland on May 29, 1942 with the 107th
Heavy Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery. The military unit
installations included Lewisporte and Botwood, among others in the
area.
 |
| Dougie McIntosh (right) with unknown man. Personal Collection, Heather Matthews.
In
researching information about Dougie's time there, I came across an
articlei
written by Karen Wells in The
Pilot
in 2010 about a war diary that had recently been received by Barry
Porter of By the Bay Museum in Lewisporte.
“The
document, from the National Defence War Diaries in Ottawa, was sent
to Mr. Porter by John Sinclair of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Mr.
Sinclair's father, Major Alexander Sinclair, was the Officer
Commanding with the 107th Coast Battery of the Royal Canadian
Artillery in June of 1942.”
|
The
article recounts diary entries regarding everything from weather and
freight, to more serious events, including that “someone
had tried to sabotage the local power station”
by fire on June 7 1942, resulting in an extra guard being placed on duty.
Porter stated that there were two confirmed sightings of German
U-boats, and many more unconfirmed, with persistent rumours of spies
in their midst.
The
following diary entries appeared in Wells' article:
25-6-42
Warm and fine. At approximately 1100 hours all the dynamite in
the
camp exploded, the amount as far as can be ascertained being between
1600
lbs and 1500 lbs. Four fatalities resulted almost instantly and many
lesser
injuries were sustained. The cause of the explosion is not known.
Lt-Col
McKenzie arrived by plane with doctors and nurses after Major
Sinclair
had notified Botwood Area Headquarters by railway
telegraph. Our own communication lines were all broken. More doctors
arrived by duty boat
with medical supplies. Dr. Knapp, the
Lewisporte doctor did fine work right from
the
start. Thirty bell tents in the encampment, occupied by the Algonquin
Regiment personnel, the quartermaster, marquee and a mess marquee
were
blown
to bits. A number of rifles were blown apart. The southwest wall of
the
temporary Orderly Room is completely blown off and the roof wrecked.
Two
Typewriters are wrecked. The crater created by the explosion is 20 ft
in diameter and 5 feet deep.
27-6-42
Wet and cold. Gunner Meisner B.H died this morning very early.
Funeral
was held this afternoon with full military honours. Parade consisted
of
Algonquin and Artillery. Nurses, doctors and supplies from St. John's
arrived
early this morning. They passed right by Notre Dame Junction and got
off
at Bishops Falls. The conductor forgot to awake them. A Court of
Inquiry is being convened today to inquire into the disaster. An
oxygen tent has been brought from Botwood on the duty boat. Padre
returned to Botwood on the
return
trip. The R.C. Fatalities are being buried in Botwood. The town
people have been wonderful. From the first they have done everything
in their power
for
our comfort and aid. They have supplied sheets, bedding and even
flowers
for the dead.
 |
| Photo postcard of Douglas McIntosh's funeral. Personal Collection, Heather Matthews. |
Subsequent
investigations ruled out sabotage, determining that the explosion was
accidental in nature.
Douglas
McIntosh was one of the men killed in the explosion on June 25 1942,
while on active duty as a guard. Based on the information in his
service record, death certificate and the war diary entries above, I
can presume he died instantly. His official cause of death was
“concussion and internal haemorrhage”, as well as “traumatic
amputation of left foot”. He was then buried in the Roman Catholic
Cemetery in nearby Botwood on June 27 1942 along with Private Philip
Charles Flamain of Ansonville, Ontario. The other three men killed in
the explosion were buried in Lewisporte: Gunner
George Gordon Bennett from Fairville, New Brunswick; Gunner Bernard
Harvey Meisner of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia and Lance-Bombadier John
Fairweather Walker of Meduetie, New Brunswick.
 |
| Douglas McIntosh service record death registration. From Ancestry.ca. |
The
events of that day may have occurred 74 years ago, but they are not
forgotten. Rest in peace, soldiers.
 |
| Photo of Douglas McIntosh's headstone in Botwood, Newfoundland. Personal Collection, Heather Matthews. |
i. Karen
Wells, “War
Diary gives insight into Hann's Point explosion”, The
Pilot,
June 23 2010, online archives
(http://www.lportepilot.ca/News/2010-06-23/article-1423368/War-Diary-gives-insight-into-Hanns-Point-explosion/1):
accessed May 27 2016.
