Last Visit to the Somme

A former East Lothian man who has devoted half his life taking relatives on visits to war graves across northern Europe is to call it a day later this year.

Alex Bulloch, of King’s Norton, Birmingham, founded the War Research Society together with police force colleagues in 1972. Since then, he has performed a unique service by transporting people to the last resting place of loved ones who fell during both world wars, mainly in France and Belgium.
Mr Bulloch, who received the MBE last year for services to the Birmingham War Research Society, was born in April, 1932 in East Lothian.

After national service in the British Army, he joined the Merchant Navy in 1956 and became an assistant baker on the Queen Elizabeth. Mr Bulloch also served on sister ship the Queen Mary as an assistant cook and later aboard the Caronia, which regularly undertook world cruises. He also worked on board the Mauretania 2.

In 1957, Mr Bulloch joined City of Birmingham Police, going on to found the force’s pipe band. He served as a police constable for ten years, later winning promotion to sergeant, and attended the Birmingham bomb outrages in November, 1974. He retired from the force in 1988.

Mr Bulloch said, “I first became interested in war research after travelling to Paris with my wife. I visited a cemetery over there, and on returning to Britain, my colleagues and I decided to set up trips to the former battlefields. This fascination started to grow and we were soon regularly taking coachloads of relatives to the last resting places of relatives.

“The War Research Society became a unique group, because although many travel companies now run battlefield tours, the society – which has charitable status – is the only organisation that performs such a personal service.

“I have had many enjoyable journeys to Europe and it has given me great satisfaction to have taken people to the graves of family members. Although we will not be running the coach trips anymore, I don’t intend to give it up completely, and will be making smaller scale visits by mini bus.

“Nevertheless, I’ve been doing this for nearly four decades and, as I’m now 77, I think it’s about time I started to take it just that little bit easier.”

Mr Bulloch will be making his last official visit to France and Belgium this November, taking a coach party to the former battlefields of the Somme and Ypres.

On the 11th of that month – Armistice Day – homage will once again be paid during a moving service at the Menin Gate in Ypres, when the fallen of the two world wars will be remembered.

Mr Bulloch has been a Freemason for 49 years and is a life member of Dunbar Castle No 75 Lodge. He is on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and also the Lodge of St Andrew Province of Warwickshire.

He has regularly appeared on local radio and answered questions about his work with the society. Mr Bulloch is married to Jessie and they have two sons, Keith and Ian.

The couple will be celebrating Mr Bulloch’s impending retirement later this summer with a 10-day cruise on the Queen Elizabeth 2, sister ship to the liner on which he served more than 50 years ago, visiting Lisbon, Vigo and La Rochelle.
“This will  certainly bring back many happy memories for me,” added Mr Bulloch.