H. Bullivant Captain 266 Bty 67th Field Regiment RA

I have not been able to trace this Officer. He seems to have been something of a mountain climber, possibly Commando Trained.
He joined the Regiment when it expanded in 1942 and went away to Staff College to become a Major prior to Anzio.
His address in 1943 was given as Melton Road West Bridgeford Nottinghamshire.

Major DCL Shepherd 29th December 1943
I am losing one of my Captains– Bullivant in a day or so
I shall miss Bullivant as he is an old friend and a very nice chap.

Lt. Bill Beadle
Practicing the arts of rock climbing
The rock climbing is by “Bully” my ex troop commander.
I’m having a great time hanging on ropes banging in pitons, lashing myself to precipices with toggle ropes,
abseiling belaying and traversing.
I shall be pretty well equipped for any leisure that may be going when the war is over

 

Found just one Royal Artillery entry in the London Gazette for an H Bullivant in wartime:

EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS, ETC.
ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY.
The undermentioned Cadets, from I22nd, I23rd, I25th, & i33rd Officer Cadet Training Units, to be 2nd Lts. 24th Aug.1940:—
Harold BULLIVANT (143070).
Page 5333 | Supplement 34936, 30 August 1940 | Lond...

and post war:
EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS.
ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY.
The undermentioned Lts. (War Subs.Capts.) relinquish their commns., 26th Aug. 1953, and are granted -the hon. rank of Maj.: —
H. BULLIVANT (143070).
4583

There is a Harold Bullivent on several ancestry family trees with a 78 Melton Road, West Bridgeford address. He was born in 1913 & died in Cornwall 1991. This is his entry from the 1939 Register at 78 Melton Road.




Service number 208564.. is in the range issued by the Royal Engineers & although details given are truncated this puts him in 367 Company based at Beeston, Notts of 42nd (The Robin Hoods, Sherwood Foresters) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers (TA). This was a searchlight unit and was transfered in August 1940 to the Royal Artillery.
Robin Hood Battalion - Wikipedia


Seems he always had a bit of adventure about him:

... Cyclist Towed By Wagon holding on to a steam wagon when cycling on Melton-road. West Bridgford, on Wednesday. August 17, Harold Bullivant. aged 18. a clerk. of 73, Melton-road, West Bridgford, was fined El at the Shire Hall. Nottingham, last Saturday. Bulllvant ...
Published: Friday 16 September 1932
Newspaper: West Bridgford Times & Echo

Results for 'harold bullivant' | Nottinghamshire, England | Location | British Newspaper Archive

Travers

 

Thanks Travers, excellent, looked for him for years. He was much respected by Major Shepherd and Lt Bill Beadle.
So he got to be a Major having attended Staff College and survived the war.
Where did he go next.
I need to do some digging.

Any idea where he died in Cornwall. Lt Beadle's parents moved to Widemouth Bay, his mother lies in St Michaels Churchyard in Bude.

Photo of him by the sea in Tunisia. (Shepherd Family Collection).
The address you found corresponds to that on a guest list but he never replied. He must have moved by then.

I now need to re-run the Roy Hewitson thread and a few other of Bill Beadles friends, he knew some interesting people.

 

Hi Uncle Target

Will PM you with the address in Cornwall shown on the family tree. He's on 16 trees but can't see anything about mountaineering or commando training on any of them.

Travers

 

My PM won't go through so will say he died in Bodmin Registration District, but had an address c1991 in Trebell Green, Lanivet.

Looks like Harold moved to South Africa after the war.

 

It seems odd that he doesn't turn up in another Regiment after Staff College.
I am trying to think how to find out more but nothing shows up.
I was quite surprised that you found the Gazette entry as I tried there a few years ago.
Perhaps the mountain skills were acquired at school or college, he must have had at least an HSC like Bill Beadle to get onto an OCTU.
Bill attended 123 OCTU at Catterick. It looks like Harold Bullivant did too.