John Isaac Bullus was born in Smeaton, VIC and was a Van Proprietor by trade when he enlisted in Ballarat with the 39th Infantry Battalion D Company on 21 February 1916 at the age of 44. His unit embarked on the Ascanius on May 27th, and by the end of November 1916, he was on the battlefields of France. Just a month later, on December 27th he was wounded in action at Armentieres, sustaining a mild gunshot wound to the head. He was evacuated to the Edmonton Military Hospital in England and it was six months before he was cleared to return to duty. Around the same time, in mid-1917, it was discovered that his true age was 52, so he was assigned duties at AIF Headquarters for the remainder of the war. He returned to Australia on the Bremen and disembarked at Melbourne on July 21st 1920, 20 months after the cessation of hostilities.
Tree No. 2158