Donald Thane Pitman was born on September 4th 1920. He was the only child of Arthur Joseph Pitman and Ethel Thane. He died on the night of 13th January 1943 when his Lancaster bomber was shot down when returning from a raid on Berlin.
Prior to World War 2 Donald was a child actor. He appeared with Richard Tauber in “Blossom Time”. He played the part of Davy Ashton in the 1935 film “The Last Light of Day”. He played the part of Gussy in the 1935 film "Emil and the Detectives", he also had an uncredited part in "The Ghost Goes West". In his later career he changed his professional name to Stuart Thane.
In World War 2 Donald joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and achieved the rank of Sergeant; his service number was 984566. Donald was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal in 1942. His award was listed in the Supplement to the London Gazette dated 11th August 1942 (page 3498) but the citation was not given (see note 1).
Donald was killed by enemy action on the night of 17th January 1943. He was in an Avro Lancaster, registration number W4772, which took part in the air raid on Berlin that night. His Lancaster is recorded as having crashed in the North Sea 10km West of Vlieland. The island of Vlieland is off the West coast of Holland and is a member of the Dutch Wadden Sea Islands.
In the book ‘Nachtjagd, Defenders of the Reich 1940-1943’ (see note 2) at the beginning of chapter 8 the raid on Berlin on the 17th January is described. In this there is a vivid description of an attack on a Lancaster which was shot down by night fighter pilot Uffizier Karl Pfeiffer of the IV/NJG 1, flying a Bf 110 F-4 or Do 215 B-5 from Leeuwarden airfield. (see note 3). The location was at 10km West of Vlieland at 23.29. This is most likely to be the Lancaster W4772 in which Donald was travelling (see note 4).
Donald’s sacrifice is recorded on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 161.
In Memory of Donald Thane Pitman D.F.M. Page 1 of 3 Version 2 February 2018
Note 1: The citation for Donald’s D.F.M. was not published in the London Gazette. In the book ‘Distinguished Flying Medal: A Record of Courage, 1918-82’ by Ian Tavender (ISBN-10: 0903754436) the citations for awards of the D.F.M. are collected. Although Donald is mentioned as being awarded the D.F.M. the citation is not contained therein.
There is a revised version of the book ‘The Distinguished Flying Medal Register for the Second World War with official recommendation details [2 volumes]’ by the same author (ISBN-10: 1902366034). I have been fortunate to find someone with a copy of the book. The entry reads:-
984566 Sergeant Donald Thane PITMAN No 61 Squadron
"This NCO has flown on most of his trips with a notably determined pilot and is himself a highly valued member of the crew. His skill and courage have contributed materially to the success of their operations. On one occasion while at low altitude, he returned the fire from a flak ship and on another, he opened fire on a fighter which attacked his aircraft. His keenness and devotion to duty have been exemplary."
London Gazette 11th August 1942
At the time he had flown 32 sorties with 195 hours flying time and was a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.
Note 2: ‘‘Nachtjagd, Defenders of the Reich 1940-1943' by Martin Bowman (ISBN: 9781473849839).
Note 3: Source - ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 52376 https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=52376
Note 4: The crew of Lancaster W4772 on the fateful night are listed in Appendix 1
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