Geoffrey Boles Donaldson. 
203 
GEOFFREY BOLES DONALDSON. 1 
C APTAIN Geoffrey Boles Donaldson is the third young 
Cambridge botanist killed in action. He was the only child 
of the late Mr. Donaldson of Londonderry and of Mrs. Donaldson, 
late of Lower Quinton, Stratford-on-Avon. He was educated at 
Oundle School and came up to Caius College in October, 1912, with 
an open scholarship and also a leaving scholarship from his school. 
i 
Donaldson was very keen on botany and did very well, taking a 
first class in Part I of the Natural Sciences Tripos in June, 1914. He 
joined the party from the Botany School which visited the South 
of France in June and July of that year, and took the most 
enthusiastic interest in the vegetation, making very full and 
interesting notes of everything we saw. 1 remember one gloriously 
fine evening at a remote village—Roquesteron—having a long talk 
with him about ecology and the most promising lines of work. He 
was splendidly full of vitality and keenness. How little any of us 
dreamed that of the five young men of that party three would be 
dead in little more than two years—two of them killed in action on 
the soil of the country they were then visiting for the first time. 
To his frank, attractive personality Donaldson added not only 
unlimited energy but very marked modesty and consideration for 
others. He gave the impression of great solidity of physique, 
mind and character. 
On the outbreak of war he was one of the first to join the 
O.T.C. and went to the first Cambridge training camp at Royston 
during August and September. In October he was gazetted 
second lieutenant in the 7th (Territorial) battalion of the Royal 
Warwickshire Regiment. He got his lieutenancy in December and 
during 1915 was for some time instructor in musketry to the 2/7th 
battalion of his regiment. When he got long enough leave he used 
to write to me and ask about the botany of the places he was going 
to stay in with his mother. After a visit of this kind to the Norfolk 
Broads, he wrote me a long letter discussing and asking questions 
about the interpretation of the vegetation, which showed that he 
was still taking a keen interest in botany. 
Donaldson was gazetted to a captaincy in March, 1916 and 
went to the western front in May with his battalion. On July 21st, 
the battalion was ordered to attack and capture part of the German 
1 The information in this notice is derived partly from the Times notice of 
Donaldson’s death, and largely from letters, copies of which his mother has 
been kind enough to send to the writer. 
