George Ellison was killed in action on this day in 1918
George has the unenviable honour of being the last British soldier to be killed in action in the First World War.
Born in York in 1878, at the 1881 England Census, the 2 year old George was living with his father James (a Confectioner) and mother Mary at 4 Union Court, York.
In 1901 George is recorded as living in Leeds and working as a coal miner. He resided with his Mother, his father given as ‘absent’ , at 14 Kippax Terrace, Leeds.
Serving in the army before the war, on the outbreak of the Great War, as a reservist, he was recalled to the army and disembarked in France on 26 August 1914. He served for the duration of the war with the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers.
George died on 11 November 1918, reportedly four minutes before the Armistice came into effect. He was 40 years of age.
George's Pension Card (saved by The Western Front Association), confirms his marriage to Hannah Maria (born 4 June 1889) and the existence of their son James Cornelius (born 16 November 1913). It shows they were living at 49 Edmund St Bank, Leeds.
L/12643 Pvt George Ellison, 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers