John "Scotty" Stewart Coull
Senior Fireman
Story
On July 3, 1944 tragedy struck the Corps. The Germans hammered the London area with V-1 rockets. One strike killed 63 American servicemen and eight civilians in Chelsea. Another destroyed the Ashley Road Police Station. Another fell near Wimbledon killing two firemen and wounding two others -one of the dead was Winnipegger John Stewart "Jack" Coull.
Coull, 36, was born and raised in Lossiemouth, Scotland. In 1932 he began his career with the Winnipeg Fire Department. The following year he married Erna Torgeresen who had come to Canada just two years before from her native Norway. In 1938 they had a daughter named Joyce. In May 1942 Coull enlisted with the Corps while his wife and child stayed at the Muskoka Apartments, 110 Young Street.
Coull is buried in his birthplace at Lossiemouth Burial Ground. In 2003 a plaque was erected in London to "Fireman J.S. Coull (Winnipeg) who died as a result of enemy action when a V1 flying bomb fell on part of Wildcroft Manor, adjacent to this site on 3rd July 1944."
Additional Information
Regimental no. T112 / Grave 1237