Zoul, George. (Zoule); b. November 27, 1908, NYC, Czechoslovakian American; Father Vincent Zoul, Mother Mary Zoul; Divorced; Received passport# 355923 on December 4, 1936,  address listed as 420 East 18th Street, NYC; Sailed December 26, 1936 aboard the Normandie; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln BN, Served at Jarama (May have transferred into the Dimitrov BN for Brunete); Return to the US aboard the Caledonia on September 13, 1937, returned on emergency certificate No. 1, through parents, address 166 State Street, Brooklyn, NY; WWII enlisted in the Canadian Army June 18, 1940, 4^th Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, Rank Private; d. July 20, 1941 in Rosia Bay, Gibraltar, buried in the Gibraltar Cemetery, Plot 2, Row D, #9, FAG# 18484887.

Source: Sail, SACB; VALB Office File. Ancestry

Last Name: Zoul, First Name: George. Alternate Spellings, Alternate Names: (Zoule);  Date and Place of Birth: born November 27, 1908, NYC [1], Ethnicity if applicable: Czechoslovakian American; Family: Father Vincent Zoul, Mother Mary Zoul [2]; Marital Status: Divorced [3]; Passport information: Received passport# 355923 on December 4, 1936 which listed his address as 420 East 18th Street, NYC [4]; Date and vessel to Europe: Sailed December 26, 1936 aboard the Normandie [5]; Units served with: Served with the XV International Brigade, Lincoln Battalion,[6] Major Campaigns and battles: Served at Jarama (May have transferred into the Dimitrov Battalion for Brunete) [7]; Vessel and date of return: Return to the US aboard the Caledonia on September 13, 1937, returned on emergency certificate No. 1, through parents, address 166 State Street, Brooklyn, NY [8]; WWII service: WWII enlisted in the Canadian Army June 18, 1940, served with the 4^th Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, Rank Private [9]; Date and place of death: died July 20, 1941 in Rosia Bay, Gibraltar [10], Burial Information: buried in the Gibraltar Cemetery, Plot 2, Row D, #9, FAG# 18484887 [11].

[1] Return Ship information Ancestry.

[2] Census records, Ancestry. (In the 1925 census George Zoul was 16 years of age, living with father and mother and was working as an errand boy).

[3] Return Ship record and Marriage License #2097, Married Gertrude (Gita) Maslow on January 27, 1931, Manhattan, NY both Ancestry.com.

[4] SACB List. The document lists Zoul’s age as 39.  This may be a clerical error, or Zoul may have provided a false date of birth.

[5] Sail List. Courtesy Adolph Ross. Copy from the VALB Office. This list was likely compiled from lists of arriving volunteers compiled by the United States State Department.

[6] Adelphi University, Sandor Voros Collection.

[7] Lowell Bennett, International New Service Staff Correspondent, “Americans of All Types Fight With British Against Hitler,” The Franklin Evening Star, Franklin, Indiana, September 16, 1941, p. 3.  To date I have not come across any primary sources that confirm that Zoul served with the Dimitrov Battalion of the XV International Brigade.

[8] Return information from Caledonia records, NY Shipping records Collection, Ancestry.com

[9] Canadian Active Service Force Attestation Paper, Ancestry. The form included the following information:

• Address in Canada – 7478 D’Lepee St., Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Date and place of birth – 27 November 1908, NYC
• Religion – Church of England
• Vocation – Clerk
• Marital Status – Single
• Next-of-kin and address – Mother Mrs. Mary Zoul, 48-34, 48th St., Woodside, Long Island, NY
• No prior Naval, Military or Air Force [Zoul did not provide information on his service in Spain.]
• No previous war service
• Enlisted – 18 June 1940

[10] United States State Department 074-12-2162, Report of Death of an American Citizen, American Consular Service, Gibraltar, August 4, 1941. Ancestry.com

[11] Find A Grave (FAG), https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gs&

Tags: Notes from the Biographical Dictionary Project