Birth name George Edwin Ellison Years of service ????-1912
1914–1918 Service/branch British Army Unit 5th Royal Irish Lancers | Allegiance United Kingdom Name George Ellison Rank Private | |
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Battles/wars First World War
Battle of Mons
First Battle of Ypres
Battle of Armentieres
Battle of La Bassee
Battle of Lens
Battle of Loos
Battle of Cambrai Died November 11, 1918, Mons, Belgium Battles and wars Battle of Mons, First Battle of Ypres | ||
George Edwin Ellison (1878 – 11 November 1918) was the last British soldier to be killed in action during the First World War. He died at 0930 hours (90 minutes before the armistice came into effect) whilst on a patrol on the outskirts of Mons, Belgium.
Biography
Ellison came from Leeds, England. Early in his life, he joined the army as a regular soldier, but had left by 1912 when he got married to Hannah Maria Burgan and had become a coal miner. Sometime just before the outbreak of war he was recalled to the army, joining the 5th Royal Irish Lancers, serving in the army at the start of the war. He fought at the Battle of Mons in 1914, and several other battles including the Battle of Ypres, Battle of Armentieres, Battle of La Bassee, Battle of Lens, Battle of Loos, and Battle of Cambrai on the Western Front.
Ellison, stated to be aged 40, is buried in the St Symphorien Military Cemetery, just southeast of Mons. Coincidentally, and in large part due to Mons being lost in the very opening stages of the war and regained at the very end (from the British perspective), his grave faces that of John Parr, the first British soldier killed during the Great War.
He was survived by Hannah and a son, James Cornelius, just 5 days short of his fifth birthday when his father was killed. At least two grandchildren of his were alive as of 2008.