John attended Birmingham University after leaving Wrekin where he studied civil engineering. His unit formed part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division and was deployed in the liberation of north-west Europe. The 53rd Division fought hard to expand the salient south of Eindhoven in conjunction with “Operation Market Garden”.

Advancing into the Netherlands, 53rd (Welsh) Division liberated the city of 's-Hertogenbosch in four days of heavy fighting from 24^th October. Following his death at the age of 23 on Wednesday 15^th November 1944 John was buried in a field grave in Hunsel in south-eastern Netherlands before being exhumed for a reburial at Nederweert with full military honours in August 1946.

The town itself had been liberated by British troops on 21^st September. Until the day before his death the front line was close by, following the Zuidwillemsvaart and Wessem-Nederweert canals; during that period there were casualties from patrol activity and from daily German shelling of Nederweert. After the British crossed the canals and pushed the enemy back, burials recommenced in the war cemetery from the surrounding area.

Son of George Hall-Bullock & Nina Hall-Bullock of Liverpool, Lancashire.

A copy of this story may be downloaded here.

See also the Commonwealth War Graves Commission permanent digital memorial, ‘Evermore: Stories of the fallen’ relating to:-
Lieutenant John HALL-BULLOCK