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Ball, John Alfred

Date of birth:
January 4th, 1914 ( Paris/Ontario, Canada)
Date of death:
February 19th, 1945 (Kleve/North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
Buried on:
Canadian War Cemetery Groesbeek
Plot: XI. Row: G. Grave: 11.
Service number:
B/38071
Nationality:
Canadian

Biography

Lance Corporal
Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, R.C.I.C.

On the morning of 19 February 1945 the weather was very bad in Kleve, Germany. It was quite cold with a lot of heavy clouds, which probably indicated it was going to rain. The road conditions were very bad because of this gloomy weather, so vehicle movement was very slow. The road and the weather made it hard to perform the planned attack well.
At 11.00 pm the attack was launched with Kangaroos tanks, companies on foot and a platoon of Carriers provided support on the flanks with Bren machine guns and flamethrowers. The attack was successful despite the loss of a large number of soldiers.
Also Lance Corporal John Alfred Ball was killed in action, only thirty-one years old.

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Sources

Photo