208108 Pte. James Donald McCoy DSO, DSM, British Army 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment from:Yardley, Birmingham (d.10th Nov 1944) My grandfather told us from an early age about Great Uncle Donald and to remember him every November. It was because he felt he had let his mother down by not finding Donald when he ran away to enlist the day after Dunkirk. The papers were full of how many men had been lost and Donald aged 14 years wanted to be one of the men to answer the call for recruits. My grandfather searched for him for three days and found he had joined the Royal Devonshires having lied about his age. My Grandad unable to enlist due to pigeon chest and was a volunteer fireman, he had to accept Donald had gone to war. Donald served with distinction, and was a credit to my Grandad who had raised him from the age of eight when their mother had died. My grandad kept in a box Donald's medals he was sent after Don died. They included a DSO and DSM with bar plus others from memory. They disappeared after my Grandad died. I still remember Donald in honour of my grandad and would love to know something of how he won his medals to tell my children. The war graves still list Don as 23 when he died, but he wasn't, he was only 19.
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