Gilbert Purnell
Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial
Regiment: Gloucestershire Regiment
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Lance Corporal 28633
Parents: Laura and George Purnell
Marital status: Married
Home address: The Greyhound Inn, The Causeway, Fishponds, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Assistant Licensee
Date of birth: 29/04/1889
Place of birth: Staple Hill, Bristol
Date of death: 29/01/1917
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Amara War Cemetery, Iraq
Age: 27
Further information:
Gilbert was born in Staple Hill, Bristol. He was the second youngest of six children with three brothers and two sisters. His father was a brickyard labourer and his mother was the licensee of The Greyhound Inn, Fishponds. Gilbert's father eventually became joint licensee of the inn and by 1911, Gilbert was also working as an assistant licensee. Gilbert married Edith Gertrude Neale in September 1916 whilst he was on leave and four months before he died.
Gilbert's battalion (the 7th, Glosters) mobilised to Mesopotamia in June 1915 and took part in the Battles of Suvla Bay and the Battles of Kut Al Imara during which Gilbert sustained gunshot wounds to his head and from which he subsequently died. Amara where he is buried was occupied by the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force during the war, from the 3rd June 1915 onwards. By 1917 seven general hospitals were based there and it would have been there that Gilbert was taken when he fell.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Some information supplied by Kingswood Heritage Museum