Born in
County Cork and educated at
Castleknock College, William MacDonald joined the
Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1929. He was appointed
Officer Commanding No. 150 Squadron in 1938 and served in the
Second World War. On 30 September 1940, during the
Battle of France, his
Fairey Battle bomber was chased at tree top height by three German fighters and he cartwheeled into a French field. Following promotion from acting air marshal to air marshal on 1 January 1960, his role was retitled Commander-in-Chief Near East Air Force on 1 March 1961. He departed the roles of Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the Island of Cyprus, and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Near East and Commander British Forces in Cyprus on 16 July 1962. He was succeeded in both roles by Air Chief Marshal Sir
Denis Barnett. MacDonald's final appointment was as
Air Secretary in 1962; he was made Air
Aide-de-Camp to
the Queen in 1965 and retired on 11 August 1966. He died on 9 November 1984. ==References==