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Erroll Pilkington Gillespie

Erroll Pilkington Gillespie Erroll Pilkington Gillespie on his wedding day, ca 1920. BC Archives I-51754

Erroll Pilkington Gillespie was from a well-to-do Victoria family and eventually became the son-in-law of William Oliver, a prominent Victoria lawyer. Before he married he spent a year and a half in the Army, trying to get to France to “do his bit”.

He was accepted for training as a machine gunner at the Canadian Machine Gun Depot in Seaford, Sussex, in the spring of 1918, but was not sent to France until September of 1918. The files also include a few letters from his brothers Ronald and Sholto, who were also soldiers.

The letters paint a good picture of a Canadian soldier's life in training camp and on active service in Europe. Erroll came home safely in 1919, and went on to a career in finance with the provincial government. He died in 1988 at the age of 94. 

 

 

Find these records in the BC Archives

MS-2685 William Edgar Oliver fonds, Box 17, Files 2, 3 and 4, 1915-1917.

Letters from from Erroll Pilkington Gillespie to his family.