| Regiment | Rank | Service No | Place of Birth | Date of Death | Age | Burial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st South Staffs | Private | 8429 | Coseley | 30 Oct 1914 | 24 | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium |
Genealogical Data
Birth of Andrew Richard Ellis registered June quarter 1890 in Dudley.
1901 Census
49 Regent Street, Woodsetton, Staffordshire.
Andrew Richard Ellis (37, House Painter, born Sedgley), his wife Eliza Jane (35, born Sedgley), and their 5 children: John Thomas (12, born Sedgley), Andrew Richard (11, born Sedgley), Minnie Louisa (8, born Sedgley), Annie (6, born Sedgley), and Ethel May (3, born Sedgley).
1911 Census
1st Bn South Staffs, South Barracks, Gibraltar.
Andrew Richard Ellis, Private, 21, Single, born Coseley.
Personal Life
It would appear that Harry Bullock, Andrew Ellis, and Joseph Franklin were pals in Woodsetton. They all joined the 1st Battalion, South Staffords, at the same time in either 1908 or 1909 and had consecutive numbers 8427, 8429, and 8428 respectively.
In 1901 Bullock lived at 48 Regent Street, Ellis at 49 Regent Street, and Franklin on the opposite side of Sedgley Road West, at 3 Wren Street. Bullock and Franklin were the same age and so possibly school mates, and Bullock and Ellis were next-door neighbours. In 1911 all three were serving with the 1st Battalion, South Staffords, and were stationed in the South Barracks, Gibraltar.
All 3 landed in Zeebruge on 4th October 1914, and would have seen ferocious action in the First Battle of Ypres. Within 5 weeks, Ellis and Franklin were dead, and Bullock was a prisoner of war and would die 2 years later.
Andrew’s arrears of army pay was distributed to his father in 1915, this was a total of £9/7/11d (9 pounds 7 shillings and 11 pence), followed by a War Gratuity payment of £5/0/0d paid in 1919.
Cause of Death
Andrew landed in Zeebrugge with the initial landing of the 1st South Staffs on 4th October 1914. In 1911 he had been a regular soldier in the 1st South Staffs, stationed in Gibraltar; it is likely that he was still a regular soldier at the outbreak of war.
The 1st South Staffs arrived in Ypres on the 14th October 1914, and were in the thick of the first Battle of Ypres in which the British Expeditionary Force suffered 50,000 casualties. Between the 19th to 21st October they fought on the Broodseinde Ridge, a successful delaying action which inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans. They were then involved in the Battle of Langemarck between the 21st to 24th October, and by 26th October in action near Zantvoorde. The 1st South Staffords War Diary stops on 26th October 1914, as the few remaining officers were concentrating on the action. Remaining in the Zandvoorte area, they took further severe casualties between the 29th and 31st October during the Battle of Gheluvelt, infamous for the 2nd Worcesters charge on the 31st October at Gheluvelt.
Andrew Ellis was killed in action on 30th October 1914. Like so many of the 1st South Staffs men killed at Ypres in 1914, Andrew has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate, in Ypres.
Newspaper Cuttings
- WOODSETTON SOLDIER KILLED IN ACTION | Dudley Herald, 14th August 1915
The death of another Coseley soldier in the person of Private Andrew Ellis (25), of the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, is reported. Ellis, whose home was at 79, Regent Street, Woodsetton, had served six years in the Army, five of which had been spent abroad. At the outbreak of war he was in South Africa. On reaching England he came home on a forty-eight hours leave, and then proceeded to France. Since last October he has been reported missing, and on July 31st he was reported as having been killed in action. - WOODSETTON SOLDIER KILLED IN FRANCE | Dudley Herald, 21st August 1915
The death of another well-known young Coseley soldier is reported in the person of Private Andrew Ellis (25), of the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. Ellis, whose home was at 79, Regent Street, Woodsetton, had served six years in the Army, five of which had been spent abroad. At the outbreak of war he was in South Africa. He came home on a forty-eight hours leave, and then went to France. Since last October, he has been reported missing, and on July 31st he was reported as having been killed in action. The deceased is the son of Mr. Andrew Ellis, painter and decorator, and the nephew of Mrs. E. Mitchard, Owen Street, Tipton.
Lest Woodsetton Forget 