posted on 2024-06-05, 20:10authored byTheir Finest Hour Project Team
John Gillespie was a World War I veteran, present at the Battle of the Somme, and had been a pacifist. On his mother's side, he came from a family of Eastern European Jewish refugees from Russian pogroms. He had seven children, one son of which was wounded on the HMS Hood.
He lived in Shepherds Bush in London. He was disabled due to the shrapnel in his left arm. He worked as a bus manager in Southall, London, during the Second World War. He was in charge of Southall and Hemel bus stations. As a bus worker, he witnessed the Blitz in London.
Ethel Gillespie kept all the postcards from World War 1 and World War 2 and throughout her life.
History
Item list and details
Grandfather's World War 1 postcards
Person the story/items relate to
John Gillespie
Ethel Ada Hannah Gillespie
Person who shared the story/items
Anon
Relationship between the subject of the story and its contributor
Grandfather and grandmother
Type of submission
Shared at National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, Hampshire on 16 September 2023.