Sergeant Peter Donoghue

Sergeant Peter John Donoghue, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was lost on operations with 120 Squadron, Royal Air Force on 12th August 1942, aged 21.  He had been born in Edinburgh and of Cumledge Mill, Duns was the son of Peter and Bridget Donoghue and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He had been educated at Holy Cross Academy, Edinburgh and was an apprentice bricklayer in Edinburgh when he enlisted.  His Squadron was part of Coastal Command and flew the B24 Liberator on convoy escort and anti-submarine duties over the North Atlantic. The Squadron sank 17 U-Boats and damaged 8 more over the course of Hostilities flying from bases in Northern Ireland and Iceland. He was wireless operator/air gunner aboard his Liberator which had left R.A.F. Tiree to escort a convoy but crashed when flying too low a wing tip hit the water during a turn over the convoy and the depth charges exploded. ( The author’s uncle Nichol Murray also flew Liberators over the Atlantic with Coastal Command ).