The AIF Project

Ernest GILLIES

Regimental number2145
Place of birthBirmingham, England
SchoolLogells St Elementary School, England
Age on arrival in Australia25
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationJeweller
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation27
Height5' 3.75"
Weight121 lbs
Next of kinFather, John Gillies, 64 Village Road, Wilton, Birmingham, England
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date15 April 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll15 January 1915
Place of enlistmentLiverpool, New South Wales
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name1st Battalion, 6th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/18/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A63 Karoola on 16 June 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll1st Battalion
FateDied of wounds 11 August 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Date of death11 August 1915
Age at death29
Place of burialAt Sea
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 14), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
29
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Taken on strength, 1st Bn, Gallipoli, 6 August 1915.

Wounded in action (bomb wounds, face, left hand and thigh), Gallipoli, 6-9 August 1915; admitted to 1st Casualty Clearing station, Gallipoli, 8 August 1915; transferred to Hospital Ship 'Sicilia', Gallipoli, 8 August 1915; Died of wounds, Hospital Ship 'Sicilia', at sea, 3.35pm, 11 August 1915; buried at sea between Gallipoli and Malta, 11 August 1915.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, GILLIES Ernest

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