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John Gillespie, London Bus Manager During Wartime

online resource
posted on 2024-06-05, 20:10 authored by Their 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.

Record ID

111289 | RNM007