Donald leaves the 4th South African Infantry (South African Scottish)

  • 11th Jan
    All ranks resting in view of the impending move tomorrow to Moislains for 10 days rest
    Major C.M. Browne M.C. took over command of the regiment vice Major D.R. Hunt
  • 12th Jan

    Major D.R. Hunt having proceeded to England on special duty is struck off the strength of the Regiment

    Marched to Moislains

Donald’s own memoirs written in April 1935 record…

Early in 1918 I was sent on special duty to join a force under General Dunsterville in the Middle East. I went through Mesopotamia into Persia thence via Kermanshah, Hamadan, Kasvin to Resht where for a short while I was Military Governor. Thence to the Caspian Sea and, via Lankoran, to the Mugan Steppe in charge of a British Military Mission to keep the Russians and the Armenians fighting against the Turks and Tartars.

This was the mission officially known as the British Military Mission to the Caucasus but commonly known as Dunsterforce. The history of Dunsterforce was written up by Major-General L.C. Dunsterville C.B., C.S.I. in a book called “The Adventures of Dunsterforce” pub. Edward Arnold, 1920.

The war diaries of Dunsterforce are available from the National Archives as WO 95/5042, WO 95/5043 and WO 95/5044.