2nd Lieut Donald Mather

Donald Mather was born in the March quarter of 1892 at Hall Lane, Hindley near Wigan to Lowton, Lancashire born colliery clerk, Charles Mather and his Great Sankey born  wife Alice (nee Turner). They married in Hindley in the June quarter of 1891. Donald was their only child.

 

In the April 1901 Census the family are still at Hall Lane, Hindley

 

Donald was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Lancaster .

 

The April 1911 Census finds the family are living at  "Merehurst",  Hall Lane, Hindley. Donald aged 19 is a student colliery mining engineer at West Leigh Pits with Wigan Coal & Iron Co.Ltd. His parents state that they have been married for 20 years and have had one child.

 

He enlisted at St George's Hall in Liverpool in September 1914 as Private 17018 joining the 18th (Pals) Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment.

From the 23^rd September 1914 he was billeted at Hooton Park Race Course and remained there until 03^rd December 1914 when they moved into the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 18th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. 

 

He was later promoted to Lance Corporal and on 07th November 1915 he arrived in France. 

 

Donald returned to England in August 1916 and was sent to Officer Training at Magdelene College Oxford. On 18th December 1916 he is commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in  the 1/5th Battalion of The Manchester Regiment .

 

His father, Charles, sent him a book as a present for Christmas 1916:  " The Story of The King's Liverpool Regt formerly 8th Foot" by T.R. Threfall. The book is inscribed:

To Donald Mather

18th King's Liverpool Regiment

from his Father

Christmas 1916

 

In January 1917 Donald returned to the front. He was killed in action on 02nd November 1917, aged 25, and now rests at Coxyde Military Cemetery in Belgium. 

In June 1917, Commonwealth forces relieved French forces on 6 kilometres of front line from the sea to a point south of Nieuport (now Nieuwpoort), and held this sector for six months.

Coxyde (now Koksijde) was about 10 kilometres behind the front line. The village was used for rest billets and was occasionally shelled, but the cemetery, which had been started by French troops, was found to be reasonably safe. It became the most important of the Commonwealth cemeteries on the Belgian coast and was used at night for the burial of the dead brought back from the front line.

The French returned to the sector in December 1917 and continued to use the cemetery, and during 1918, Commonwealth naval casualties from bases in Dunkirk (now Dunkerque) were buried there. After the Armistice, the remains of 44 British soldiers were brought into the cemetery. Ten of them had been buried in isolated graves. Nineteen came from Furnes Road British Cemetery, Coxyde, a cemetery made in July, 1917, by the 2nd Manchesters and the 49th (West Riding) Division on the East side of the road to Furnes (now Veurne). Twenty-five (of whom 22 belonged to the 49th Division) came from Oosthoek Military Cemetery, Adinkerke, 4 Kms South-West of Coxyde.

The cemetery was used again during the Second World War, chiefly for the burial of casualties sustained during the defence of the Dunkirk-Nieuport perimeter in May 1940.

The cemetery now contains 1,507 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, the French graves from this period having since been removed. Of the 155 Second World War burials, 22 are unidentified.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Donald's death was reported in the local press:

Second Lieutenant Donald Mather, Manchester Regiment officially reported killed in action, was the son of Mr Mather of Hall Lane, Hindley, Wigan, an official of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company Ltd. The young officer who enlisted as a private in the King's Liverpool Regiment in the first month of the war, was assistant colliery manager at the Westlegh Pits of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company Ltd, and was 25 years of age. He received his commission in December 1916.

 

His parents arranged for a Celtic Cross headstone at St Elizabeth's Churchyard in Aspull, Wigan.

 

His soldiers pay of £13 & War Gratuity was sent to his father on 19th December 1922

 

The aforementioned book, " The Story of the King's " which was Donald's 1916 Christmas present from his father was recently acquired by Peter Brydon of the King's Regiment Facebook Group who has family currently living in Lowton.