Service Details
- Branch of Service
- Army
- Conflict
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Date of Enlistment
- 01/12/1915
- Date of Discharge
- 08/06/1917
- Place of Enlistment
- Goulburn NSW
Personal Details
- Gender
- Male
- Place of Birth
- Randalstown, Northern Ireland
- Address (at enlistment)
- 'Fairlight' via Uriarra ACT
- Occupation
- Labourer
- Next of Kin
- John Gillespie (brother), Glasgow, Scotland
Unit and Rank Details
- Service Number
- 1657
- Final Rank
- Private
- Final Unit
- 55 Battalion AIF
Commemoration
Queanbeyan RSL Wall of Remembrance, Crawford St, Queanbeyan NSW
Notes
Gillespie worked and lived at 'Fairlight' near Uriarra. He enlisted on 1 December 1915 in Goulburn as part of the 'Kangaroo March' through the Riverina. He embarked in April 1916 as a Private with the 2nd reinforcement to the 55th Battalion, serving in France from October 1916. While in the trenches near Gueudecourt in December 1916 he became ill with influenza and was hospitalised in England. After convalescing Gillespie returned to Australia in May 1917 and was discharged on 8 June 1917 in Sydney and welcomed home a few weeks later at the Triumph Hall in Queanbeyan. He moved to Queensland and died in January 1938. Gillespie was buried in Toowong Cemetery.
Description - height 5 feet 6 inches, weight 138 pounds, chest 34-36 inches, dark complexion, light brown hair, grey eyes, Presbyterian.
Sources
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)
Queanbeyan Age - 29 June 1917
Courier Mail (Brisbane) - 25 January 1938