Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Photograph – Photograph of HM Submarine D-3, a British D-Class submarine, which was commissioned into service in 1911 and lost off the coast of France on 15 March 1918 with all 29 officers and men aboard. It was the victim of an attack by a French airship whose crew had mistaken it for an enemy submarine. At the time, the D-3 was commanded by Acting Lieutenant W.M. Maitland-McDougall RCN, a graduate of the Royal Naval College of Canada and the first Canadian naval officer to command a Royal Navy submarine. (Submitted by Navy League Cadet Corps CHAMBLY, Barrie, Ontario.)

Memorial – The panel on the Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on which William McKinstry Maitland-Dougall's name is inscribed. Image taken 9 February 2018 by Tom Tulloch.

Halifax Memorial – The Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on which William McKinstry Maitland-Dougall's name is inscribed. Image taken 9 February 2018 by Tom Tulloch.

Dedication Panel – The dedication panel on the Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where William McKinstry Maitland-Dougall's name is inscribed. Image taken 9 February 2018 by Tom Tulloch.

Newspaper clipping – From the Daily Colonist of March 22, 1918. Image taken from web address of https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist60y88uvic/mode/1up?view=theater

Memorial – Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022

Memorial Plaque – Acting Lieutenant William McKinstry Maitland-Dougall (RNCC) was the son of Mr.J. St.L. Maitland-Dougall and Mrs. W. Maitland-Dougall, of Duncan, Vancouver Island. He was a graduate of the Royal Naval College of Canada. He served with the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve. Mid. Maitland-Dougall, served CC1, Canada`s first submarine. He was later to see more submarine service. He died on the other side of the Atlantic on March 15, 1918 at 23 years of age. On March 12, 1918, he was in command of the D3, the first British submarine to be sunk by aerial bombs. A French dirigible, which could not see the D3`s insignia because of the sub`s reflection off the waves, took the D3 to be a U-boat firing upon it. An inquiry later found that Maitland-Dougall had acted in the only manner possible to him. The French hadn`t been informed that the D3 was assigned to their waters and were not aware that British submarines identified themselves with rockets as opposed to flashing lights. Three days later the D3 and her company were posted as missing and presumed lost. His name is listed on the Naval Memorial at the Ross Bay Cemetery, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, which consists simply of a square block of granite bearing the names of 39 officers and men who were lost or buried at sea in the Pacific Ocean. A brass memorial plaque was installed in St. Peter`s, Quamichan Church. He is commemorated on Page 466 of the First World War Book of Remembrance. His brother of Cpl Hamish Kinnear Maitland-McDougall (706658), died on 9 April 1917. The names of both William and his brother Hamish Maitland-McDougall are listed on the War Memorial at Tayport, Fife (Ferry Port on Craig). Sources: Thomas William Paterson `Cowichan chronicles`, Volume 1 http://bks9.books.google.ca/books?id=DjFKWE8DiqIC&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=5&edge=curl&sig=ACfU3U3Y27gV6lOsMkQXaZQPutW1g6mAsQ

Photo of WILLIAM MCKINSTRY MAITLAND-DOUGALL – Lieutenant (RCN) William McKinstry Heriot-Maitland-Dougall was killed on active service with his officers and crew while in Command of H.M. Submarine D3 off Le Havre on 12 March, 1918 at 23 years of age.

Memorial Plaque – Lt. William McKinstry Maitland-Dougall and his brother Cpl Hamish Kinnear Maitland-Dougall (706658) are commemorated on a brass memorial plaque in St. Peters’, Quamichan Church, Duncan, Vancouver Island. The plaque was donated by their mother, Mrs. Winnifred Maitland-Dougall, of Duncan, Vancouver Island.

Photo of WILLIAM MCKINSTRY MAITLAND-DOUGALL – Lieutenant (RCN) William McKinstry Heriot-Maitland-Dougall was Commanding Officer of Royal Navy Submarine D3. He was killed on active service with his company of 29 officers and crew while in Command of H.M. Submarine D3 off Le Havre on 12 March, 1918 at 23 years of age. An inquiry later found that Maitland-Dougall had acted in the only manner possible to him. HMS D3 was sunk in error by French dirigible AT-9, which could not see D3`s insignia because of the sub’s reflection off the waves, and took her to be a U-boat firing upon it. The French hadn’t been informed that D3 was assigned to their waters in the English Channel and were not aware that British submarines were identifying themselves with rockets as opposed to flashing lights. In 2006, the wreck of D3 was found by British scuba divers in the English Channel near Fecamp, Normandy.

Photo of William McKinstry Maitland-Dougall – William Maitland-Dougall attended the Royal Naval College of Canada.