GILL, Alexander George
| Service Number: | 500 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 July 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mile End, East London, England, November 1893 |
| Home Town: | Mile End, City of West Torrens, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Mile End Model School |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 19 March 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 500, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 500, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 18 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 500, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 500, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), GSW (knee) | |
| 19 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 500, 32nd Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Alexander George Gill's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Births Dec 1894 Gill Alexander George Mile End 1c 551.
He was 24 and the of the late Alexander and Alice Gill; foster son of Agnes M. Lugg, of 263, Norma St., West Adelaide.
Biography
Alexander Gill had been a survivour of the fatal engagement at Fromelles. He had been wounded in the right knee(gun shot wound) on July 19th 1916 and was evacuated to England to recover from his wounds. After some time he rejoined the 32 Battalion on the 27th of June 1917. The battalion diary states that they moved into forward positions in the region of Messines on 14th of March. It also states that German mortar activity was strong during this period. The Red Cross file for Gill has a number of eyewitness statements about how he and four other soldiers were killed on the 19th of March 1918. An eyewitness extract from the Red Cross file states ;
" He was in B Coy. and was the H.Q. runner i knew him well. We were in a pillbox that was being used as a dressing station when six of us went outside to watch our gas shelss go over. Not long after a shell landed on the pill box and five of the six were killed. He is buried at Messines cemetery." Cpl. Ogden 2592
In a furthur cruel twist of fate the vessel returning his personal belongings and kit the SS Barunga was sunk in English waters on July 17th 1918 thereby depriving his family of his personal affects. After searching the Commonwealth War Graves register it would appear that Pte. Gill's original grave was lost and therefore he his remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres along with thousands of other Commonwealth and British soldiers.
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