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Donald Stott
Major Donald John Stott, DSO & Bar (23 October 1914 – 20 March 1945) was a New Zealand soldier and military intelligence agent during the Second World War. Born in Auckland, Stott volunteered for the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. Serving with an artillery unit, Stott took part in the Battle of Greece, and the subsequent Battle of Crete. Captured by the Germans on Crete, he successfully escaped from a prisoner of war camp after several months of internment.
Making his way back to Egypt, he joined the Special Operations Executive in 1942 and was dispatched to Greece to support the local resistance efforts against the Germans. In 1944, he transferred to the Z Special Unit, which was based in Melbourne, Australia as part of the Services Reconnaissance Department. Appointed commander of Robin 1, a small team formed to collect intelligence in the Southwest Pacific, he disappeared, presumed drowned, on 20 March 1945 while leading his team on a reconnaissance mission to Balikpapan Bay, Indonesia.
Born on 23 October 1914, Stott was the son of a butcher in Birkenhead in Auckland. Educated at Northcote Primary School and then at Takapuna Grammar School, Stott was a keen sportsman. Upon finishing his education, he was employed at the New Zealand Herald as a rotary machinist.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Stott enlisted in the New Zealand Military Forces in December 1939 and volunteered for the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF). Posted to 5th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery, he was quickly promoted to sergeant. In 1940, he embarked with the 2nd Echelon of the 2nd Division, which had been formed from the personnel of the 2NZEF, for Egypt. However, during transit the ship on which he was traveling, the Aquitania, was diverted to England.
In March 1941, Stott was shipped with the 2nd Echelon to Egypt to join up with the 1st Echelon of the 2nd Division, which had been in the country since February 1940, and then onto Greece to take part in the defence of Greece. The New Zealanders, together with other Allied forces, were forced to retreat to the island of Crete following the German invasion of Greece. He was wounded and captured during the subsequent Battle of Crete.
Stott described the wound in a letter home as being '"not at all severe. I was hit by a bullet just above the knee (right) on the inside of the leg and it did not strike a bone so I was lucky", and it was not so serious as to prevent him escaping a prisoner of war camp in Greece. Together with another New Zealander, Bob Morton, Stott vaulted the fence of the camp in broad daylight and successfully evaded the German guards with the help of Greek police who led the pursuing Germans astray. After spending several months in and around Athens, Stott and Morton were eventually able to get to Egypt, crossing the Mediterranean by sailboat.
Following recuperation from his adventures in Greece, Stott was posted to Officer Training School (OTC). It was during his time at OTC that he was asked to conduct sabotage missions in Greece for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a request he gladly accepted. However, Stott, by now commissioned as an officer, initially began working for SOE at Bardia in Egypt, dealing with POWs who had escaped from Crete. In July 1942, he was part of the Post Occupational Force and, as the Allied situation in Egypt deteriorated, was tasked with the destruction of key facilities in the event German forces advance further.
Stott, increasingly frustrated that he had yet to reach Greece, sought a new role at SOE and was give charge of the Greek Section in the organisation. With his fellow escapee, Bob Morton, he carried out some reconnaissance missions in North Africa and some islands off the coast of Greece, returning to Egypt each time. In March 1943, he, along with another SOE operative, Geoffrey Gordon-Creed, were parachuted into Greece. They were to join the British Military Mission that was then based in Greece and co-ordinate the Greek resistance efforts.
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Donald Stott
Major Donald John Stott, DSO & Bar (23 October 1914 – 20 March 1945) was a New Zealand soldier and military intelligence agent during the Second World War. Born in Auckland, Stott volunteered for the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. Serving with an artillery unit, Stott took part in the Battle of Greece, and the subsequent Battle of Crete. Captured by the Germans on Crete, he successfully escaped from a prisoner of war camp after several months of internment.
Making his way back to Egypt, he joined the Special Operations Executive in 1942 and was dispatched to Greece to support the local resistance efforts against the Germans. In 1944, he transferred to the Z Special Unit, which was based in Melbourne, Australia as part of the Services Reconnaissance Department. Appointed commander of Robin 1, a small team formed to collect intelligence in the Southwest Pacific, he disappeared, presumed drowned, on 20 March 1945 while leading his team on a reconnaissance mission to Balikpapan Bay, Indonesia.
Born on 23 October 1914, Stott was the son of a butcher in Birkenhead in Auckland. Educated at Northcote Primary School and then at Takapuna Grammar School, Stott was a keen sportsman. Upon finishing his education, he was employed at the New Zealand Herald as a rotary machinist.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Stott enlisted in the New Zealand Military Forces in December 1939 and volunteered for the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF). Posted to 5th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery, he was quickly promoted to sergeant. In 1940, he embarked with the 2nd Echelon of the 2nd Division, which had been formed from the personnel of the 2NZEF, for Egypt. However, during transit the ship on which he was traveling, the Aquitania, was diverted to England.
In March 1941, Stott was shipped with the 2nd Echelon to Egypt to join up with the 1st Echelon of the 2nd Division, which had been in the country since February 1940, and then onto Greece to take part in the defence of Greece. The New Zealanders, together with other Allied forces, were forced to retreat to the island of Crete following the German invasion of Greece. He was wounded and captured during the subsequent Battle of Crete.
Stott described the wound in a letter home as being '"not at all severe. I was hit by a bullet just above the knee (right) on the inside of the leg and it did not strike a bone so I was lucky", and it was not so serious as to prevent him escaping a prisoner of war camp in Greece. Together with another New Zealander, Bob Morton, Stott vaulted the fence of the camp in broad daylight and successfully evaded the German guards with the help of Greek police who led the pursuing Germans astray. After spending several months in and around Athens, Stott and Morton were eventually able to get to Egypt, crossing the Mediterranean by sailboat.
Following recuperation from his adventures in Greece, Stott was posted to Officer Training School (OTC). It was during his time at OTC that he was asked to conduct sabotage missions in Greece for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a request he gladly accepted. However, Stott, by now commissioned as an officer, initially began working for SOE at Bardia in Egypt, dealing with POWs who had escaped from Crete. In July 1942, he was part of the Post Occupational Force and, as the Allied situation in Egypt deteriorated, was tasked with the destruction of key facilities in the event German forces advance further.
Stott, increasingly frustrated that he had yet to reach Greece, sought a new role at SOE and was give charge of the Greek Section in the organisation. With his fellow escapee, Bob Morton, he carried out some reconnaissance missions in North Africa and some islands off the coast of Greece, returning to Egypt each time. In March 1943, he, along with another SOE operative, Geoffrey Gordon-Creed, were parachuted into Greece. They were to join the British Military Mission that was then based in Greece and co-ordinate the Greek resistance efforts.
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