Gnr John Joseph Holt MM – 1090554
4 July 1920 – 11 April 2016
John Joseph Holt (born Joseph Burrow) was born in Great Harwood, Lancashire. John was adopted by Mary Charlotte Holt.
Mary had been married to John William Holt and had two children who died at a young age. Tragedy would strike again in May 1918 when John William Holt was serving on board the SS Ausonia as an Engineers Steward. While travelling from Liverpool to New York with a crew of 140 carrying general cargo, the SS Ausonia was struck by a German torpedo from SM U-62, some 700 miles south west of Ireland. The vessel sank and 44 of the ships crew including John either drowned, died of wounds or of thirst.
A local Vicar, knowing that Mary had lost two children of her own and owned her own shop suggested that she adopt little Joseph. She did and changed his name to John Joseph Holt.
In 1939, John was listed as living at 116 New Henderson Street, Liverpool with his adoptive mother Mary and their occupations’ were both listed as “Shop Keeper”.
John joined the Army on 17 October 1940 serving with the 9th Field Training Regiment Royal Artillery before joining 111th Field Regiment Royal Artillery on 15 September 1941.
John travelled with the 111th Field Regiment to Egypt in June 1942 and was present with the unit throughout the war.
Whilst in Tunisia in April 1943, John was involved in an action for which he would be awarded the Military Medal. The commendation for the medal read as follows:
“On the advance North, between Oudref and Triaga, on Thursday 8 April 1943, Gunner Holt was severely burnt about the face and hands when the gun tractor in which he was travelling was set on fire by shelling from enemy Armoured Fighting Vehicles, and subsequently evacuated to hospital as a result of his burns.
When his tractor was fired by the enemy shell fire, in spite of his burns, he assisted Lieutenant Owen and Gunner Goodram to get one gun into action, which fired six rounds at the enemy tanks before they finally withdrew”.
Following the war, John left the 111th Field Regiment in November 1945. He would soon marry and moved to British Columbia, Canada where he would spend the rest of his life.
John’s Granddaughter Christie said “As a person, he was amazing. He loved his kids and his grandkids — all 19 of them! And then came his great-grandchildren; the number is still climbing. My eldest was the one who would have made him a great-great-grandfather. We found out on 31 March 2016, and before we had the chance to tell him, he passed away on 11 April 2016. He would have absolutely loved being a great-great-grandpa.
He loved playing chequers and card games — but if he was losing, the board or cards would get knocked over. He also loved playing snooker and pool, and he had his own cue, which I now keep in my room.
He was a big fan of silver duct tape. If something wasn’t broken, duct tape would fix it! He kept a photo album for each branch of the family and was so proud of them all. He lived in an apartment for war veterans in New Westminster, BC, and absolutely loved it there, until he needed to move into a care home.
He loved strawberries and would steal them off anyone’s plate — grandchild or not! He let the kids put millions of bobbles in his hair, lip gloss on his lips, and almost nail polish too! He was allergic to shellfish and also had gout.
At family gatherings, he would quietly slope off, find a bed, and have a nap. He played hide and seek behind lamp posts, wore flower garlands, and pretended to dance just to make the kids laugh. He made several trips to “dirty old England” and always needed someone on potty duty to warm the toilet seat for him!
And of course, there was his accordion — oh, I could go on for hours. He was, and always will be, my most favourite human.”
