Military service
Burial/memorial information
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.
Digital gallery of Second Engineer Walter Lerne MacDonald
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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) -
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) -
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.
Digital gallery of
Second Engineer Walter Lerne MacDonald
Digital gallery of
Second Engineer Walter Lerne MacDonald
Digital gallery of
Second Engineer Walter Lerne MacDonald
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 45 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance.
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