John Douglas BELL

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BELL, John Douglas

Service Number:	VX24391
Enlisted:	17 June 1940
Last Rank:	Lance Corporal
Last Unit:	Not yet discovered
Born:	Colac, Victoria, Australia, 7 June 1909
Home Town:	Not yet discovered
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Bricklayer
Died:	Pinetown, South Africa, 12 June 1995, aged 86 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery:	Ashley Cemetery, Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Memorials:	Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial

World War 2 Service

17 Jun 1940:	Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, VX24391
31 Aug 1945:	Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, VX24391

Notes on John Douglas Bell

A member of the Colac Fire Brigade, John joined the Army in 1940 and was in the same Battalion as his brother Walter. After sailing to Egypt, they went to Libya, Greece and landed on Crete where they were soon separated.

John was captured some time before April 1941. He may have been in a prison camp initially but then worked on farms with the locals.

After the war he holidayed in Scotland before returning to Colac. He eventually moved to South Africa to visit his sister, Isabel, and met and married Molly.

Source: Colac Family History Project/WW2 Honour Roll (courtesy of Ian Fox)

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