Site Home
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.
Great War Home
Search
Add Stories & Photos
Library
Help & FAQs
Features
Allied Army
Day by Day
RFC & RAF
Prisoners of War
War at Sea
Training for War
The Battles
Those Who Served
Hospitals
Civilian Service
Women at War
The War Effort
Central Powers Army
Central Powers Navy
Imperial Air Service
Library
World War Two
Submissions
Add Stories & Photos
Time Capsule
Information
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Our Facebook Page
Volunteering
News
Events
Contact us
Great War Books
About
222462Mjr. Donald Patrick Shaw DSO.
British Army 6th Btn. Dorsetshire Regiment
from:Westminster School
Shaw as a young officer
Donald Patrick Shaw, born 29th August at Melcombe Regis, was the eldest son of Dr A E Shaw, headmaster of Lord Williams’s School, Thame, from 1899 to 1920. Educated at that school, where he was head boy for his last two years, and at Balliol College Oxford, where he gained an Honours degree in history, he taught at Weymouth and Westminster schools before enlisting, in 1914, in the Dorsetshire Regiment.He was seriously wounded in the neck in 1915 while serving in France and nearly drowned when the hospital ship Anglia was mined off Dover in the Channel. He returned to France, promoted to Major and was awarded the DSO in 1918 for gallantry in the attack across Ancre. In 1918-1919 he commanded the 6th Battalion of the Dorsets as Lieut. Colonel, leading them in the Victory Parade. In 1919 he returned to Westminster School where he became a housemaster and commanded the Officer Training Corps. He died of his war wounds in 1924 and was buried on 14th of October with full military honours. His coffin was borne on a six-horse gun-carriage to Westminster Abbey and at his grave in Norwood cemetery the Last Post was sounded by soldiers of the Grenadier Guards.
Shaw as senior officer
Shaw as usher at Princess Mary's wedding
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.