Tributes as 'sharp and funny' Stourbridge Normandy veteran dies aged 101
Tributes have been paid to a Normandy veteran from Stourbridge who has died just weeks after celebrating his 101st birthday.
Joe Bullock, who was granted the freedom of Dudley last year, was one of the last surviving servicemen to have taken part in the Normandy landings of 1944.
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Daughter Carolyn Metkola says her father, who celebrated his 101st birthday on December 30, stole the show with a humorous speech at the ceremony when he was made a freeman of the borough in July last year.
He continued to drive up until the age of 100, and was a well-known figure at the Asda Express in Oldswinford where he would collect his newspaper every morning.
Mr Bullock, who was born in Lye, joined the Royal Navy in April 1943, where his skills as a joiner would be put to great use.
He crossed the channel for the 1944 invasion of Normandy in landing craft LBE 36, which departed on June 7, 1944 - the day after D-Day - arriving at Sword Beach.
"It was a converted Thames Lighter Barge and broke down on the crossing," says Carolyn, who is 65.
"It wasn't very glamorous or romantic.
"Because he was a joiner, they were there to provide support to the operation, they were on the beaches for a few weeks actually, because they had to do all the repairs to not only the landing craft, and those jetties that they put out."
He was later posted to Singapore, before finally being demobbed in 1946, returning to civilian life as a coffin-maker for Vernon Kendrick's undertakers. It was during that time that he met his future wife Jean at a dance in Stourbridge.
The couple lived in Stourbridge, and had daughters Carolyn and Rosemary, and sons Andrew and James.
He later become chairman of the Stourbridge Royal Naval Association, and until a few weeks before his death he regularly played bowls at the Sons and Daughters of Rest club in Mary Stevens Park.
Carolyn said for many years he was reluctant to talk about his wartime service.
"I think because my mum had lost her brother in the war, he didn't talk about it so much then," she says.
But after being awarded the Legion d’Honneur by the French government in 2015, he began to open up, although his stories usually focused more on the camaraderie and high jinks than the tragedy.
"That night, when he had his presentation, I learned some things that I had not learned before," she says.
"He was a remarkable man, with a fantastic memory about what he and his colleagues had been through. He told us about his 21st birthday, out in Asia, I think that was quite an experience for him, with his shipmates making sure he celebrated his birthday in an appropriate manner for a sailor.
"He always said 'I'm not a hero, I was just doing my bit like we all were'."
In a 2024 interview, commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, he said: "There are a lot of memories, some sad, but a lot of them were happy, so that levels it out a bit.
"We had a job to do, and that was it."
Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Pete Lee - who formally awarded Mr Bullock with the freedom of the borough - paid tribute to the veteran.
"I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Mr Bullock," he said. “It was a such a privilege to meet him last October and grant him freedom of our borough.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.”
Mr Bullock also captured the imaginations of civic dignitaries when he was invited to the recent Armed Forces Day celebrations at Himley Hall in July last year.
He was recognised for his service at the huge celebrations after celebrating his 100th birthday in December 2024. He also received a commemorative civic paperweight from the mayor.
Mr Bullock lived independently until two weeks before his death on February 14, where he moved into Wyncroft House care home in Kingswinford. He died peacefully on Saturday (February 14).
"He was sharp and funny right up until the end," says Carolyn.
As well as his four children, he leaves six grandchildren - including George and Tom Scriven, who run Halesowen-based estate agents Scriven & Co - and 12 great grandchildren.
