The AIF Project

Neil GILLIES

Regimental number306
Place of birthWest Maitland, New South Wales
SchoolChristian Brothers (Catholic)
ReligionRoman Catholic
OccupationCompositor
Address14 Cook Road, Sydney, New South Wales
Marital statusMarried
Age at embarkation34
Height6' 0"
Weight202 lbs
Next of kinMrs N Gillies, 265 Underwood Street, Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales
Previous military serviceServed in South Africa with NSW Citizens Bushmen 31 March 1900 to 8 May 1901; Special Squad from 29 January 1902 to 31 May 1902; Waldrons Scouts from 1902 to declaration.
Enlistment date19 August 1914
Rank on enlistmentSergeant
Unit name4th Battalion, A Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/21/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A14 Euripides on 20 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll4th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 30 April 1915
Miscellaneous details (Nominal Roll)*Spelt Neill Gillies on NR
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Date of death30 April 1915
Age at death36
Age at death from cemetery records36
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 21), 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
40
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Neil and Maria GILLIES. Native of West Maitland, New South Wales
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Appointed sergeant, A Company, 4th Bn, 19 October 1914.

Embarked Sydney, 20 October 1914.

Transferred to No. 6 Platoon, B Company, 4th Bn, 1 January 1915.

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 April 1915.

Reported missing, Gallipoli, 30 April 1915.

Court of Inquiry held in the field, 16 July 1915, pronounced fate as 'now reasonable to suppose killed in action, Gallipoli, 30 April 1915'.

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

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