Mrs Eliza Jane (Jenny) Donner was the headmistress of Ellerker School. She was born in Twickenham in 1883 and married Frank Victor Donner in Barrow on Humber in 1908. Her father had been born in Canada and was a warrant officer in the British army when he died in India when Jenny was only seven years old.
Her husband, Frank Victor Donner, was a commercial traveller for a chemical company but at the outbreak of hostilities he volunteered for the army and was a sergeant in the 1st battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment in the First World War. He died in France in 1916. They had only been married for eight years and Jenny was left on her own with four young children, three boys and a girl. She had trained as a teacher and in 1928 was appointed headmistress at Ellerker School.
Jenny and her family lived in Church House Ellerker and the three boys played for the village football team with some success. At the outbreak of war all three sons signed up to join the RAF.

Avro Lancaster

Roderick William Donner was born in Barrow on Humber in 1913. He volunteered for the RAFVR and was a Flying Officer posted to 626 squadron flying Lancaster bombers out of RAF Wickenby in Lincolnshire. He died on the night of 22nd February 1945 whilst serving as navigator in a Lancaster which was shot down over Germany. He is buried in Reichswald Forest War Cemetery which is in Western Germany close to the Dutch border. He was married to Joyce and they lived in Bognor Regis.

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery

Jenny Donner’s third son Frank Donner also served in the RAF and returned home safely. Nothing is known of his service record.

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