Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

He was the son of William Charles Stilwell and Julianne (nee Lynch). His father was born in Middlesex and was a career soldier. His mother was from Tramore, Waterford, Ireland.
 
His parents were married in Cork in 1883. Their eldest children were born in Ireland - Jessie Mary (born 1884), William Martin Francis (born 1886) - before the family were posted to Gibraltar where another daughter, Agnes Mary, was born in 1891. Two further children died in infancy,
 
By 1901 the family had returned to England and were living at 45 Stuart Road, Walton. William Charles Stilwell was an army pensioner. 

Bartholomew's father died at 16 Stalmine Road, Walton on the 7th July 1902 and was buried in a family grave (1A 202) at Ford Roman Catholic Cemetery.
 
William Charles Stilwell's widow and daughter, Agnes, were living at 29 Bank Road, Bootle, in 1911. Elsie Mary Pass, a niece of the Stilwell family, was living with them in 1901 and 1911. She too was born in Gibraltar in 1889.
 
Bartholomew's grandmother, Johannah Lynch, died at 29 Bank Road, Bootle in 1916 and was also buried at Ford Cemetery.
 
Bartholomew George was not at home as he had signed up for the Royal Navy on the 14th October 1904 when only 16. He served aboard H.M.S. Emerald and H.M.S. Impregnable. It appears he engaged for twelve years service in 1906, on his eighteenth birthday, at which time he was 5ft 7 inches tall with dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. His service number was 232731.
 
However his naval records [ADM 188/412/232731] give no details of his service after 1906 and he later became a merchant seaman. He served aboard the Carmania in 1908 and 1909 and aboard the Saxonia in 1910
 
He emigrated to Australia some time after 1911, where he had relatives living at Bendigo, Victoria. He enlisted in the Australian forces on the 15th September 1914.
 
His attestation papers give his physical description. He was 5ft 11 inches tall and weighed 140 lbs. He had fair hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He had a tattoo of "clasped hands" on his left wrist.
 
He sailed for Gallipoli with his battalion on the Transport Ship Berrima on the 22nd December 1914. En route he fell ill and died from Enteric Fever at the Stationary Hospital on the island of Lemnos on the 7th May 1915.
 
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Reports on his death appeared in the Bootle Times on the 25th June 1915 and in the Liverpool Echo on the 21st June 1915.
 
ONE OF A FIGHTING STOCK.
   The list of Bootle heroes continues to grow. Among the latest names of those who have given their lives for their country is that of Lance-Corporal B.G. Stilwell, youngest son of Mrs. Stillwell, 29, Bank-road, Bootle, who died as the result of wounds received in the recent battle in Gallipoli. Lance-Corporal Stilwell joined the Australian Contingent at the outbreak of war, and was attached to the 14th Battalion of the Second Australian Expeditionary Force. He was connected with well-known fighting families, being a cousin of the late Major-General Sir Edward Steadman, K.C.B., and the late Major E. Rutter, whose death was announced this week, and who, it will be recalled, was mentioned in despatches on Wednesday. He was for many years connected with local shipping and his death will be received with very real regret on the part of his numerous friends. Had he lived until Monday last, Lance-Corporal Stilwell would have been 26 years of age.
Bootle Times 25th June 1915
 
KILLED AT DARDANELLES.
   Mrs. Stilwell, of 29, Bank-road, Bootle, has received news that her youngest son, Lance-corporal B.G. Stilwell, has died in hospital from wounds received in action at the Dardanelles. He was twenty-five years of age. He joined the 14th Battalion 2nd Australian Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of the war. In a letter received by his parents previous to the news of his death, he said: "Just a line to let you know that I am keeping well. Every time we show our bayonets the Turks clear like rabbits. They are terribly afraid of our Australian boys, and I think we give them a big licking. We are in a splendid position."
Liverpool Echo 21st June 1915
 
His photograph was published in a commemorative booklet issued when the first part of the Bootle Roll of Honour was unveiled in 1916.
 
His mother was granted a pension of £26 per annum - later revised to £2 per fortnight - by the Australian authorities. Her son willed all his effects to her using the form provided in his army pay book. His mother later moved to 48 Hertford Drive, Wallasey. He was also survived by his brother and two sisters.
 
His brother, William Martin Francis Stilwell, served with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the war. He was discharged with the rank of Major and after the war he became a merchant and settled at Lisbon, Portugal. He married Maria Saldanha Ferreira Pinto Basto and had ten children. William died at Lisbon in 1953.
 
Two of William’s sons were killed in World War Two. Peter Joseph Stilwell died in Tunisia in May 1943 and Anthony Paul Stilwell died in Tunisia in December 1943. They were both Lieutenants with the Coldstream Guards.
 
 William’s eldest sister, Jessie Mary, married George Barker Ellis in 1910. Her husband was killed in action in France in 1916. Her second husband, Matthew Paul Francis Kilkenny, was a civil servant. They were living 2 Rue Rosette, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt but gave their home address as 48 Hertford Drive, Wallasey when Jessie died in 1924, aged 40.
 
His youngest sister, Agnes Mary, married James Black at Birkenhead in 1921. Their son, Gerard Wilfred Black, was born later the same year. Agnes was a widow by the time her mother died at 48 Hertford Drive, Wallasey in 1929. Julianne Stillwell was buried with her husband and mother at Ford Cemetery.
 
Bartholomew is remembered on the family grave.

Bartholomew is commemorated on the following  memorials
Bootle Civic Memorials

Our Lady of Lourdes & St. Bernard R.C. Church, Toxteth

Catholic Institute School, Liverpool 

Longmoor Lane Council School, Fazakerley