George Edwin Ellison (1878 – 11 November 1918) was the last British soldier to be killed in the First World War. I'm happy to have committed a ward donation towards this. For Edits select Suggest Edits on the memorial page. Please contact Find a Grave at support@findagrave.com if you need help resetting your password. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Labour’s Hilary Benn also paid tribute to Mr Ellison, who was the inspiration behind a poem ‘Goodnight Kiss’, by writer Philip Parker. World War I British Army Soldier. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. York, York Unitary Authority, North Yorkshire, England, Mons, Arrondissement de Mons, Hainaut, Belgium. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. It was around 9.30 in the morning, an hour-and-a-half before the Armistice. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^https:/.test(d.location)? Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Use the links under “See more…” to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Mr Ellison was born in York and lived in Leeds before he joined the 5th Royal Irish Lancers at the outbreak of war. pic.twitter.com/RxlQClclCh, — Cllr Paul Wray (@paulwrayuk) November 7, 2018. He joined the 5th Royal Irish Lancers and fought in the earliest battles of the war after arriving in France on 26th August, 1914. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. If you have questions, please contact support@findagrave.com. Please try again later. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? To add a flower, click the “Leave a Flower” button. He served in the trenches four years during the Great War, beginning with the Battle of Mons in 1914, the Battle of Loos in 1915 which saw the first use of chlorine gas against Allied troops, and the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. Make sure that the file is a photo. An incredible coincidence was later discovered that Ellison’s grave is positioned opposite the grave of John Parr, who was the first British soldier to be killed during the war. If time was on his side, George Ellison would have witnessed the Armistice that would bring peace between the warring sides in the First World War. Well done to @LeedsCivicTrust, volunteers, @edleeds and other for raising funds for this. To suggest a change to a cemetery page, visit the Cemetery Corrections forum. Ellison Oops, we were unable to send the email. Ellison had been a British soldier long before the Great War, but left service in 1912 in order to be closer to home for his wife and son. 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. The Labour MP said Mr Ellison’s grave is just a few footsteps from the resting place of the first British soldier to die in action on the Western Front, 17-year-old John Parr. Add to your scrapbook. Try again later. He died at 09:30 am (90 minutes before the armistice came into effect), shot by a sniper while on a patrol in woodland on the outskirts of Mons, Belgium. Thanks for your help! Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Ellison is buried in the St Symphorien military cemetery, just southeast of Mons. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to feedback@findagrave.com and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Try again later. Resend Activation Email. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Please enter location or other information that may help the volunteer in fulfilling this request. However, on the final day of the war Ellison was tragically killed whilst on patrol in Mons, Belgium just 90 minutes before the armistice came into effect. The final moments of the first World War. That year, he married Hannah Maria Burgan, and with her had one son. A system error has occurred. You can still file a request but no one will be notified. Feeling thoughtful at the unveiling of the George Ellison Plaque at Leeds Train Station. This site has since become a symbolic place to recognise the British war effort, particularly in Belgium which was such a key battleground at both the beginning and end of the Great War.