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221562 Rfmn. George Andrew Gillespie British Army 11th Btn. King's Royal Rifle Corps from:Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria (d.8th Aug 1916) George Gillespie was my great-uncle and he was born in Barrow-in-Furness. I have inherited his letters from my father's family and he mentions training in Liverpool, and in his first letter he joked about the poor training of Kitchener's New Armies. When he finally got to France in 1915 his letters did not give details of where he was, where he was going or what he had been doing. One letter mentions that he was in "No-man's land" and that the Germans were 180 yards away. The letter describes how at night his comrades would sing Christmas songs loudly only to be outsung by the German soldiers. This was his last letter dated December 24th 1916. George Gillespie died aged 32 in the Battle of the Somme from mortar shelling which collapsed and killed several men that day. He is buried in Hebuterne Communal Cemetery, Calais, along with one other 11th Battalion member. The letter from his commander, 2nd Lieutenant G.C. Everett, reporting his death did not mention exactly where he died. My research seems to show he may have been in the battle of Delville Woods but I cannot confirm this. George was the son of George and Catherine Gillespie, of 44, Earle Street, Barrow-in-Furness. He was not married. Additional Information: 8th of August 1916 A large T.M. Shell, which fell on the entrance of a deep dug-out, knocked it in completely and buried the occupants, killing R3245 Rfn Gillespie G; R1656 Rfn Sutton J and R12378 Rfn Thorne W, the latter behaved very gallantly in holding up the block in order to let in some air to the remainder instead of attempting to free himself which must inevitably have caused a fall of earth and blocking of the air passage. R8344 L/C Sharp, the team Commander also did very well. JOHN HENRY COULLING Reply Please type your message:      We recommend you copy the text about this item and keep a copy on your own computer before pressing submit. Your Name:             Email Address:       @ **Please put first part of your email, (before the @ sign) in the first box, and the second part in the second box. Do not include @, it is automatic. Do not enter your full email in each box or add an @ sign or random spaces.**