Child 1:
William DownieBorn: 27-Aug-1935
Died: 26-May-1998
Spouse: Helen Kerr
Children: Shona Downie, Beth Downie, Billy Downie, David Downie
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Husband:
William Downie Died: 19-Apr-1945 Father: William Downie Mother: Elizabeth Hunter Neil William Downie was in the first battle in Norway in 1940. He was badly wounded by a German mortar shell. He lay in the snow for ten hours, saved by blood coagulation, and was picked up by a German patrol, which saw him move himself. Uncle Willie was a prisoner in POW Camp Stalag XXA at Thorn in Poland . He ran the camp football teams. Then the early months of 1945 saw the British and Americans advancing from the West and the Russians from the East. The Russians were nearby and the German Commandant of Stalag XXA, along with other nearby camps, decided to retreat in the hope that they would fall into Allied hands instead of the Russians and took the prisoners with them. This involved a trek of over 400 miles in terrible conditions. Over 16000 prisoners set out and half died on the "Misery March" as it became known as. As the remaining column of prisoners with guards moved past a wood at Crecy, Hanover, American fighter planes machine-gunned them, killing thirty-three. Willie and others were at the head of the column and had just passed a wood into which the rest of the column dived for safety. Three weeks later the war ended. L/Corporal William Downie's body was eventually buried in West Berlin. The place is the British And Commonwealth Cemetery, The Heerstrasse, Charlottenburg, Berlin. This is near the 1930's Olympic Stadium.The details of Uncle Willie are in the box in the wall of the entry arches, where a book gives details in alphabetical order. The details are that he is buried in plot 11, line K. The gravestone wording is: L/CPL. WILLIAM DOWNIE 3245722, 6th BATTALLION, CAMERONIAN SCOTTISH RIFLES, DIED 19thAPRIL, 1945, AGE 36. THY WILL BE DONE. |
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Wife:
May Tennant Father: Mother: |
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Child 1:
William Downie Born: 27-Aug-1935 Died: 26-May-1998 Spouse: Helen Kerr Children: Shona Downie, Beth Downie, Billy Downie, David Downie |
Child 2:
Anna DownieSpouse: Malcolm Preston Children: |