Bure Monuments

Bure war memorial for the fallen from the First and the Second World War.


Monument 13th Lancashire Battalion

Memorial Plaque for Major Jack Watson MC

Major John Bernard Robert Watson MC (14 January 1917 – 12 April 2011) was a British Army officer who was awarded a Military Cross for gallantry whilst serving with 13 Parachute Battalion in the Ardennes during the Second World War.

He served in the Ardennes as a company commander, and his company on 3 January 1945 led the assault into the village of Bure, Belgium. Watson's company from the launch of the attack came under heavy repeated attacks by enemy mortars, machine-guns and artillery, and there were immediate casualties. He led the company forward and when under attack organised the defences and drove the enemy from the part of the village his company had been tasked to clear. An extract from the citation for his Military Cross reads: " His conduct, energy and gallantry throughout were beyond praise, and without him the attack might well have failed. "

Major Jack Watson MC died on 12 April 2011.