7th Battalion South Lanncashire Regiment

[jimgillbanks]

Hello all, I am looking for information on my Grandfather Private George Edward Gillbanks, I know he was killed on 21 October 1916, and would like to know what Company etc he was in, Is there any photos available showing him?. Anything would be appreciated.

[MaxD]

All his records show he was with 2nd Battalion South Lancs and, as is quite normal, his company is not shown anywhere.

It was not routine for the army to take photos, (there is certainly no on-line "album" to be looked for )  - your best bet would be local newspapers and/or http://www.lancashireinfantrymuseum.org.uk/ or Google South Lancs and see what comes up in the way of old comrades etc.

The war diary for the battalion can be downloaded here:
 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7353386

There is a very detailed account of the action of 21 October which took place to the south east of Grandcourt along the trench line in square 15 on the link following, running along the line of the present day D 151.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=15&lat=50.0733&lon=2.7094&layers=101465248&right=BingHyb

The cemetery in which he rests is in Grandcourt.

MaxD

[jimgillbanks]

Thank you MaxD, you have been a great help, I shall explore the links you supplied. Regards, Jim.

[cath151]

Hi
His will is available online for £10 , it might be interesting, some have quite personal notes or letters others more basic information.
https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Wills?Surname=gillbanks&SurnameGrants=gillbanks&YearOfDeath=1916&YearOfDeathGrants=1916&IsGrantSearch=False&IsCalendarSearch=False#soldiers

Cathy

[jimgillbanks]

cath151, thank you so much for your post, I never knew he made a will, I have now ordered it, I shall also see if other relatives made wills too, although some of the survived the war. Regards, Jim.