THE son of a WW2 soldier is paying tribute to a private who lived in Weston-super-Mare and died in Normandy to mark Remembrance Day.

Alan Berry, from Devon, found a letter his dad, Arthur, who also fought during WW2, sent home announcing the death of soldier, and friend, Jack Randall Weight, from Weston.

After that, Alan researched Jack’s life gathering news thanks to cutting from the Weston Mercury and from the battalion’s diary.

Alan, who also visited Jack’s grave in France, said: “This is the story of Jack Randall Weight, a young soldier of the Second World War.

“My interest in Jack Weight goes back 20 years to 2004 when I took my mother over to the 60th anniversary commemoration of the battle for Hill 112 in Normandy, in which my dad as well as Jack had taken part.

Jack Randall WeightJack Randall Weight (Image: Alan Berry)

“I knew little of my dad’s wartime exploits but, on the way, home my mum told me she had kept all of the letters my dad had written home to her.

“I was amazed and read through many of them, one which told of Jack’s death.

“After that I researched his short life obtaining the news cutting from the Mercury and from the battalion’s diary.

“The Mercury printed the article but I’m not sure of the date.

“His name is on the town memorial but with no family and his generation now past there is probably no one to remember him, but I thought it might be nice to give him a mention with Remembrance Day coming up.

“Jack was born on November 23, 1918, at Swindon in Wiltshire, just days after the end of the First World War.

“His mother Doris Muriel and father Reginald moved to Weston-super-Mare when he was a boy, to No 1 Amberey Road.

“He attended the old County School in Weston and was a member of the Boy Scout Troop.

(Image: Alan Berry)

“At the age of 15 he underwent six operations at Weston Hospital and was not expected to live, his courage and cheerfulness earned the admiration of many Westonians and prayers were said for him in many of the churches in the town.

“His army records show that he had an appendix scar, so he may have had peritonitis from a burst appendix, which was a serious thing in pre-war days.

“On leaving school he was an apprentice with BT Butter in the town then on the 16th October 1939 aged 20 he was called up to serve with the 5th Battalion Gloucester Regiment, the Glosters as they were known.

“After intensive training Jack sailed on April 18, 1940, to join up with the British Expeditionary Force already in France.

“Records show that the following day he was at the Infantry Base Depot from where he joined up with his Battalion.

“The BEF were pushed back to the beaches of Dunkirk after failing to halt the German advance, Jack was lucky to be evacuated and on May 30 he arrived back in England.

“The British Army was in disarray and Jack was briefly attached to the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry that August and then to the 43rd Battalion Recce Corp the following year in October 1941.

“For a while he was also attached to the 4th Canadian Recce Corp then on the 10th April 1942 he was sent to the 4th Somerset’s who were based in Dover protecting the Kent coast.

“Jack sailed with the Battalion to Normandy on June 18, 1944. His second journey into Battle and one from which he was not to return.

“After the devastating battle at Hill 112 near Caen where the Battalion was decimated and had to be reformed, he fought on to the next battle at Mount Pincon.

“Jack was only 25. He had survived operations when he was a boy, the loss of his dad, the retreat from Dunkirk and one of the bloodiest battles in Normandy only to be killed at almost the end of the Normandy campaign by a sniper’s bullet.

“My dad had written home to mum about Jack’s death, just two days later: ‘We had another very tough weekend, it’s funny how we always get all the bad luck then.

“‘One of my very best pals was killed by my side on Saturday night, it has upset me quite a lot.

“‘He was the bloke who was interested in railways, he lived in Weston Super Mare.

“‘He was unmarried and had been all through Dunkirk without getting hurt.

“‘Yesterday at dawn we buried him in an orchard and covered his grave with flowers from the shell scared garden of a nearby farm.

“‘Little things like that I shall never be able to get out of my mind when this is all over.’

“I have visited Jack’s grave at Banneville CWG cemetery near Caen and also his home street in Weston, and the town war memorial where his name is recorded.

“With the recent opening of the British Memorial overlooking the beaches of Normandy I have sponsored a plaque in Jack’s memory.”