GILLIES, Albert Cecil
| Service Number: | 4024 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 July 1915, Keswick, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mundulla, South Australia, Australia, 23 November 1897 |
| Home Town: | Mundulla, Tatiara, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 30 May 1916, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, Bethune, Nord Pas de Calais Plot I, Row H, Grave No. 25 INSCRIPTION FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bordertown Men who Enlisted from Mundalla Roll of Honor, Mundalla Soldiers Memorial Honour Roll, Mundulla Methodist Church Honor Roll, Mundulla War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Nov 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 4024, 11th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' |
|
| 22 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4024, 11th Infantry Battalion, RMS Mongolia, Fremantle |
Help us honour Albert Cecil Gillies's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He was 18.
His brother also fell. He was Lance Corporal Hugh Gillies, Service Number 2018, 4th Australian Light Horse-also aged only 18 died 03/05/1918 in Palestine.
Albert is honoured on the Chulmleigh War Memorial which stands in a small, well - kept garden just outside the Church gate and opposite the Globe Inn.
It consists of a large carved stone Celtic cross above a four-sided block on which the names are carved. The whole is mounted on 3 rectangular stone blocks.
It is not clear why he is commemorated in Devon-it is possible that his parents had lived in the area before emigrating to Australia.
Biography
Albert Cecil GILLIES was an 18 year old labourer from Mundulla in the State's Mallee region near Bordertwon in the District of Tatiara when he enlisted. His parents were Mr & Mrs Robert and Mary GILLIES, of Mundalla, South Australia
This record matches that found at THIS LINK (/explore/people/373267) - his name was mis-spelled originally. It appears that he has been re-enlisted and assigned to the 11th Battalion.
He embarked from Fremantle with the 11th Battalion for the MIddle East. By the time they arrived the ANZAC Division was 'drawing down' at ANZAC, and the 11th Battalion had been withdrawn in October along with the other units that had been present at the Landing.
They re-assembled and reorganised with the ceration of the 4th Division in Egypt. They then began embarking for Marseilles in France and the long train trip north to the Armentieres sector, the so-called "Nursery" of the Western Front. Later to be the scene of the Battle at Fromelles, intially activity levels were relatively low. Casualties were sustained though, due to German shelling and occasional raiding parties.
Albert Gillies was one of those unfortunate to lose his life in this way, on 30 May 1916. He is buried in the nearby Rue Petillon cemetery.
"THE LATE PRIVATE A. C. GILLIES. Bordertown, June 22.
The news of the death of Private Albert C. Gillies was received here on Tuesday last with much regret. The Rev. J. Owen conveyed the sad intelligence to the parents at Mundalla. The official information stated that he was killed in action on May 30. Private Albert Gillies was the fifth son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gillies, of Mundalla, and was the third of four sons to enlist. He was 18 years of age. He possessed a bright and cheerful disposition." - from the Adelaide Chronicle 01 Jul 1916 (nla.gov.au)
More to follow........
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