| Rank | Private |
| Service # | A4350 |
| Unit # | Highland Light Infantry of Canada |
| Resident | Chatham |
The son of Mrs. Ethel Hulse of 46 Degge St., Chatham, ON.
John enlisted in July of 1940 with the RCR in London, ON. He had been working on a farm prior to enlisting. He was transferred to the First Kent’s when they were mobilized. In May of 1941 he volunteered for overseas service in a draft of men from the Kent’s in New Westminster.
While in England Pte. Hulse on a visit to Birmingham in 1942, the same year he went overseas, met his future wife, (whose maiden name was (Dennelly) at the time of their meeting she was working as a arc welder in a Birmingham tank factory, prior to that she worked at a Cadbury chocolate factory.
On D-Day + 14 (June 20th) Pte. Hulse went to France with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada (HLIC) as a machine gunner. On 19 September, near Boulonge “while convoying an ammunition truck, a German 88 millimeter shell hit it’s target” wounding Pte Hulse in both legs fractured below both knees. Another Chatham man Pte. Albert E. Andrews A70071, was near John at the time but escaped unscathed. In a letter home he expected to have use of his legs in a couple of months. He may be discharged from the Army and be sent back to Canada. CDN 5/20/44
Pte. Hulse went through seven dressing stations before being evacuated to England. After being in hospital for several weeks being treated with penicillin he became well enough to be released on furlough. In November of 1944 the couple were married in Burmingham, the groom in a wheel chair, both legs encased in bandages and plaster casts. “Never the less it was a happy occasion”.
While recuperating Pte. Hulse had been taking a course in electrical engineering which he hoped to pursue after the war. Pte. Hulse arrived back in Canada in December of 1944 and his bride arrived in Chatham in February of 1945. Pte. Hulse had been going back and forth from his home in Chatham to hospital in London for treatment on his legs but the couple meant to make his time at home their honeymoon. CDN 19/02/45. His young bride thinks she is going to like Canada very much. She had an aunt who came to Canada shortly after the last war and was living in Montreal.
John was discharged from military service in August, 1945.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Sources | CDN (19-02-1945), CDN (21-08-1945), IODE(P), CCF-FD44, KCFA |
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