George Henry Hill was born in 1890. He was the youngest of four (surviving?) children of John and Emma Hill, although he gained younger brothers and sisters when his dad remarried. George grew up in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Prior to the war, he worked at the famous Nestlé's factory and it's known that he kept pigeons (his younger half-brother Fred used to help him to look after them).

On 29th August 1914, George signed up for the army (presumably in response to Kitchener's appeal) joining the Lincolnshire Regiment. As part of the 6th Battalion, he remained in training in England for the best part of a year until June 30th 1915 when a train took the 6th from Frensham to Liverpool. Here they embarked on the converted passenger liner "Empress of Britain", leaving England on 1st July, bound for Gallipoli. Sailing south and through the straits of Gibraltar, the 6th Battalion stopped at Alexandria, Egypt for four days from 12th July to unload surplus stores, then north through the Aegean Sea, eventually reaching Cape Helles, the southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula. From here they moved onto the front line at Achi Baba on the southeast of the peninsula where, along with other regiments, they were engaged in battle.

The night of 1st/2nd August, the battalion left for the small island of Imbros, further up the western coast of the peninsula. From there, they and other regiments crossed to Suvla Bay, landing on the evening of 6th August. The long term plan was to head inland and then south to join up with Australian forces moving up from the southwest. Unfortunately, a failure to move the men quickly inland lead to the previously virtually absent Turkish army populating the surrounding hills, while the Allied forces languished on Suvla Bay beaches. The Allies did make some progress inland, advancing towards "Chocolate" Hill (so nicknamed because of its colour) but there was much confusion about how to proceed.

On 9th August, the Allies, including the Lincolns, attempted to advance on to "Scimitar" Hill (so nicknamed because of its shape). Around midday, the heavy shelling - maybe from both sides - caused fires to break out in the tinder dry scrub of the hill. When he returned to England, a friend of George's visited his parents in Ashbourne. In tears, he described how George had been wounded in the foot during the fighting and consequently had not been able to escape the rapidly advancing flames. Many allied soldiers met the same fate that day.

George died 20 days short of a year after enlisting, and only 40 days after leaving his home country. He has no marked grave on Gallipoli but may be one of the many unnamed soldiers buried in the nearby Green Hill Cemetery. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial situated on the southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula (panel 44 to 46).

D.Steward (great nephew of George)

Dave Steward