John Rontree

John 'Jack' Rontree was born in Houghton-le-Spring on 9 January 1915. Previously a bricklayer, he enlisted with the Territorial Army attached to the 8th Battalion DLI as a motorcycle dispatch rider. He was seconded to the 11th Battalion DLI in 1940 and served as part of the British Expeditionary Force on its advance into Belgium. Following the retreat of the BEF in the face of the German advance, he was evacuated from Dunkirk aboard the destroyer HMS Windsor. He was involved in a motorcycle accident whilst testing second-hand motorbikes donated to or requisition by the Army, resulting in a compound fracture to the right elbow. This led to his medical discharge from the Army.