Great War soldier’s story told at station

MORE DETAILS have been revealed about Leeds’s plans to honour George Edwin Ellison, the last British soldier killed in action during the First World War.

Leeds Civic Trust announced earlier this month that it intended to commemorate Mr Ellison’s life with a plaque in his home city.

Now it has been confirmed that the plaque will be unveiled at Leeds City Station in a ceremony taking place at 9.30am on Wednesday, November 7.

The trust is planning to print hundreds of mocked-up newspapers telling Mr Ellison’s story so they can be distributed to people passing through the station on the day. It is hoped some of Mr Ellison’s relations will be able to attend along with a representative from his regiment, the 5th Royal Irish Lancers.

And, with preparations for the event in full swing, a renewed appeal has been made for people in Leeds to help cover the costs of the plaque and its unveiling.

Trust director Martin Hamilton said: “We are a quarter of the way to our £2,000 funding target, and thank all of those who have funded this campaign through the gofundme.com website, with cheques and with cash donations. We still need to raise more money to ensure that the occasion is a fitting memorial to George Ellison, and all of those Leeds people who were engaged in World War One.”

Mr Ellison was aged 40 when he was shot on the outskirts of the Belgian town of Mons in November 1918, just 90 minutes before the Armistice brought an end to the war.

A miner by trade, he came from Richmond Hill and left a widow, Hannah, and a four-yearold son, James.