OF THE MILLIONS OF STORIES OF SACRIFICE AND LOSS to come out of the First World War, perhaps George Edwin Ellison's is the most moving.
By the autumn of 1918, the native of Leeds, England was something of a legend among his squad mates; the 40-year-old career soldier was still alive and kicking after four punishing years of trench warfare. It was no small accomplishment for a Tommy on the Western Front. After all, the British Army had been effectively wiped out and reconstituted with fresh volunteers and conscripts several times over since the start of the conflict.
As a member of the 5th Irish Lancers, Ellison fought in the BEF's first actions in 1914 and would go on to survive the bloody slaughter at Ypres, Armentières, Loos and Cambrai. [1]
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