BORN – Shrewsbury
HOMEFRONT – Place / Occupation / Holy Trinity / School-Welshpool
EDUCATION – Welshpool County School
JOB – Hosier and Clothier
UNIT – 5 Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers
RANK – Lance Corporal 201314
THEATRE – Middle East / First Battle of Gaza. 26-27 March 1917.
DIED – KIA 26 March 1917. Aged 21.
BURIED – Jerusalem Memorial (unknown). (CWGC)
Hubert Wilfred Gwilliam was born in Shrewsbury in 1895. He was the third of five sons of Samuel and Annie Gwilliam – his brothers were Samuel, Harold, Gilbert and the youngest Reginald, born in 1903. Their father worked as a hosier and clothier and they lived at the shop at 9-11 High Street. Sometime after 1891 they moved to Oswestry where his father had set up on his own, again as a clothier/outfitter, with a shop on Albion Hill, the family lived at the shop. According to Hubert’s obituary he attended Welshpool County School. By 1911 he was working with his father and brother Samuel in the business.
Hubert enlisted in early 1916 at Oswestry joining Royal Welsh Fusiliers as Private 9089 and was posted to 5 Battalion with a change of number to Private 201314. He gave his residence as ‘Mountfields’ – possibly a house name either in Oswestry (or Kinnerley), his parents at this time moved to Rhosweil, West Felton. He most likely went out to Egypt early in 1917 joining 5 Bn RWF as reinforcements to bring up strength prior to the forthcoming offensive to capture Palestine and Jerusalem.
Hubert was KIA on 26 March 1917 during the First Battle of Gaza 26-27 March 1917. His body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial. He is also remembered on the war memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Oswestry.
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