Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Walter W. Gillings was born August 28th 1892 in the district of York, Yorkshire, one of 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter. His father Thomas Gillings, a native of Filey born 1859, married Mary Ann Taylor, born 1857, native of Pickering, Yorkshire in the district of York in 1890. Newly married Thomas worked as a general labourer living at 24 Upper Newborough Street, Clifton with his wife and newborn son Henry (Harry), later moving to 4 Baker Street with all three of their children. By 1911, with the exception of his wife Mary and her widowed father, a retired jobbing gardener, who was living with them at 6, Shipton Street, York. all the family was employed. Thomas was now a railway waggon machinist, son Harry (20) a law clerk for a firm of solicitors and Walter (20) worked as a telegraphic labourer for the railways. Daughter Alice was employed by a chocolate manufacturer, possibly Rowntree, as a chocolate and confectionary packer. Walter migrated to the north east after 1911 where he married in 1915, in the district of Gateshead, Wilhelmina Coates with whom he had a daughter, Olive, born in 1916.
Walter W. Gillings enlisted August 4th 1916 and was assigned as Able Seaman Tyneside Z/9323 Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, firstly aboard Victory 6, transferred to Excelsior and finally to HMS Penn.
Admiralty record’s as regards the death of Able Seaman Walter Gillings, December 2nd 1917 give the cause of death as being “2”. Cause of death 2 is divided into 3 subsections, section 1, “killed or died of injuries, exposure or disease due to exposure or injury, drowned, missing and presumed killed or drowned following the loss of ship”, does not apply as HMS Penn was not sunk or lost but scrapped in 1921, neither does section 3, “death due to injuries or disease following injuries accidentally sustained as Able Seaman Gillings has no known grave which only leaves section 2, “accidental deaths, killed or drowned etc”, primarily, “drowned”
Able Seaman Z/9323 Walter Gillings RNVR died December 2nd 1917, aged 25 years, having been washed overboard, he drowned. His sacrifice is recorded as one of the names inscribed on the Chatham Naval Memorial, an obelisk which overlooks the town of Chatham, Kent, commemorating members of the Royal Navy who have no known grave, the majority of the deaths having occurred at sea where no permanent memorial could be raised.
At the time of his demise his parents were living at 43, Horner Street, Burton Lane, York, and his wife and child at 33, King Street Pelaw on Tyne. His widow Wilhelmina received all monies due to him and his award of the Mercantile Marine Medal sent to her at 48, Willow Grove, Felling, Gateshead, County Durham.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Walter Gillings is remembered at Heworth on H92.03 and on our List of Ships’ crews
