GILL, John William

John Gill was the son of John and Harriet Gill of 20 Bull Street, Brettell Lane. He enlisted in the South Staffords and went to the 2/6th Territorial Battalion. They went to the Western Front in 1916 and during 1917 they took part in both the Third Battle of Ypres and the Battle of Cambrai. In each case severe casualties were sustained. About this time he wrote a letter of thanks for Christmas comforts to the County Express, which was published on the 5th January 1918 and which expressed remarkable sentiments given what he had experienced in the front line: It is most kind of Brierley Hill people to think of me in this time of trial, but we are cheered by the knowledge that those for whom we are fighting do think of us. I trust the world will soon be freed from the tyranny of militarism and force, and that a free world for all God’s people will result. Whilst we are fighting the battles for right and freedom from the menace of a tyrant enemy, it is nice to know that my kinsfolk are thinking of me and others. I pray that God in His goodness will soon crown our tiring efforts with success, and this terrible war brought to a successful end. Two months later the Staffords were stationed close to the Hindenburg Line west of Cambrai in the front line trenches. They experienced the first German Spring offensive when the fearful Bruckmuller barrage opened at 2 a.m. on the 21st March. The densely packed lines of attackers could not be stopped and at the end of the day the battalion virtually ceased to exist. Among those killed in action was Private John Gill. He was 20 years of age and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial and on the Brierley Hill and Brierley Hill church Memorials.