John (Jack) Nation

Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church

Regiment: Royal Armoured Corps

Medals: 1939–45 Star, France & Germany Star, War Medal 1939–1945

Rank and number: Lance Corporal

Parents: Noble and Annie Nation

Marital status: Married

Home address: Home Address: Amberley Crossways Thornbury, Bristol. Lived: Clifton, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Worked for Boots the Chemist

Date of birth: 15/03/1914

Date of death: 08/04/1945

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Hanover War Cemetery, Niedersachsen, Germany and commemorated on St Mary's church Memorial Thornbury

Age: 31

Further information:

Jack was the son of a carpenter. He had an older sister Myrtle and a younger brother Douglas and he attended the council school in Thornbury.

Jack joined up in 1941, the same year that he married Marguerita Frances Saunders, a typist from Bristol. He served with the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps in the North African Campaign for more than two years and was taken prisoner but escaped soon afterwards. Jack also fought in the Sicily Campaign and the Normandy Campaign making him a very experienced soldier. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit by Montgomery for outstanding good service and devotion to duty.

Jack and his regiment fought their way through France and into Germany where 17 days before the final German surrender, they were fighting alongside the infantry in a fierce battle near the village of Rodewald. The resulting large number of casualties, meant that the ambulances were overwhelmed when Jack chose to attend to a badly wounded soldier. It was at this point that he was shot by a sniper and killed. He was originally buried at Linsburg and was posthumously mentioned in despatches in May 1945.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Thornbury Roots - http://www.thornburyroots.co.uk/gloucester-road/18-gr-tenants/#nation