manchester regiment Posted 26 October , 2006 Share Posted 26 October , 2006 the CWGC have this soldier listed as pte arthur gee,his name is andrew gee,and they also have his date of death as 30-5-15,listed as missing,but his best mate pte joseph mcdermott states in a letter home to his uncle,says andrew was killed at his post by a shell on 12th may 1915, he died 5min later,he helped them get his body out of the trench and they buried him,he couldnt have been killed on 30th,its nigh impossible,pte mcdermotts letter was published in the papers on 12th june 1915,that means pte mcdermotts letter was written,posted,reached ashton,read by his uncle,sent to the papers[its a sat paper]and published,all in 12 days,on 25th may they were in bivouacs and went to the eski line on 3rd june,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 26 October , 2006 Share Posted 26 October , 2006 Certainly agreed about his name - SDGW and his MIC both have Andrew. SDGW does have date of death as 30 May. You would need to provide evidence - death certificate or, perhaps, name mentioned in the War Diary. Diary could be a good bet - I know 6/Manc listed OR casualties until 4 June Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 26 October , 2006 Share Posted 26 October , 2006 The date of death can only be changed with the death certificate. His mate's letter is not proof acceptable for this purpose (he could easily be wrong). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 26 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 26 October , 2006 john,forgot the important bit,mcdermotts letter was dated 16th may,1915,a memorial card was sent to his family from his pals in B coy with the usual messages of sympathy and stating,KILLED AT HIS POST 12th may 1915,they were in bivouacs on 12th may,went into the line on 23rd,mcdermott mentions that hes waiting to go into the firing line in his letter,and that pte gee is their first death but 6 have been wounded by shell and shrapnel,you must agree john,that theres no way he could have died on 30th,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 26 October , 2006 Share Posted 26 October , 2006 Bernard Doesnt matter whether I agree or not ( and you obviously have pretty good stuff there). But , as Terry and I have said, you are going to need something "official" to present to CWGC. It isnt just matter of proving that the 30th is wrong, it is also a matter of proving what is right. Terry will be able to confirm that the chap appears in the Overseas Register and, assuming he does, then you can apply for the death certificate which will cost you £7. If it doesnt exist , then also usually acceptable to CWGC (but not as good) would be a categorical reference in the War Diary to his death on the given day. I suspect that this together with the stuff you already have would be OK - but the Diary needs to be precise about identification) John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 26 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 26 October , 2006 hiya terry,its not the letter thats puzzleing me,its the time span,he dies on 30th may and 12 days later his picture,obituary and letters from his pals all appear in the papers on 12th june,and the paper is a saturday paper,the paper could have had the details for days[but thats supposition]dont you think it appeared very quickly,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 26 October , 2006 Share Posted 26 October , 2006 He does appear in GRO under Ref S.1.359. It also has the name as Andrew. I have queried this with CWGC for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 27 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 27 October , 2006 many many thanks terry,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 27 October , 2006 Share Posted 27 October , 2006 Name sorted..... Name: GEE, ANDREW Initials: A Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Manchester Regiment Unit Text: 1st/9th Bn. Date of Death: 30/05/1915 Service No: 1690 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 158 to 170. Memorial: HELLES MEMORIAL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 28 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 28 October , 2006 many thanks terry,thats another beer i owe you,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 29 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 29 October , 2006 CQMS williamson in a interview with a reporter while at home on convalescent leave after being wounded on gallipoli,REPORTER-what was it like,CQMS williamson-it was hell,we landed at 5oclock on 8th may and the turks welcomed us with a massive shell fired from the asiatic side which landed 500yds away,they fired 4 more that day,the following day we relieved the naval brigade for 24 hours because they needed a rest,we had our first taste of rifle fire,on the way back we were shelled by shrapnel but suffered no casualtys,we dug ourselves in for safety,it was at this time that we suffered our first casualty,PTE ANDREW GEE,killed on 12th may. bernard published in paper 31-7-15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 29 October , 2006 Share Posted 29 October , 2006 Bernard Looks like getting the date changed should be a doddle once you have the death certificate. Has your Mancs group got the war diary for the 9th? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 29 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 29 October , 2006 roys got it john,i have dropped him an e.mail,ime holding back on the DC in case thats wrong as well,two other soldiers mention andrew gee as being killed,but they only say hes been killed,no dates or anything,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 29 October , 2006 Share Posted 29 October , 2006 Bernard Knowing how the Mancs @ Gallipoli did their diaries, I'd be gobsmacked if it didnt mention, by name , the first casualty. Death cert. is still best bet for evidence, though. If we can help through the Forum's "non-commemorated" link we now have with CWGC, just shout. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 30 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 30 October , 2006 Bernard Knowing how the Mancs @ Gallipoli did their diaries, I'd be gobsmacked if it didnt mention, by name , the first casualty. Death cert. is still best bet for evidence, though. If we can help through the Forum's "non-commemorated" link we now have with CWGC, just shout. John that would be great john,thanks,bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester regiment Posted 31 October , 2006 Author Share Posted 31 October , 2006 another witness to pte gees death came in a letter written by pte richard massey when writing home to his wife. letter dated 12th may 1915 as i write this to you the shells are falling all around,and they have been out sniping,as i write this,andrew gee has been shot in the mouth by a sniper,he died a few minutes later,they are just carrying tommy holden to the hospital badly wounded. we have buried andrew gee in a nice little grave and placed a cross on it marked. R.I.P IN MEMORY OF PTE ANDREW GEE. 9TH MANCHESTER REGT,B.COY KILLED AT HIS POST MAY 12TH 1915 the 1915 star medal rolls confirm that pte gee died on 13th may 1915. bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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