From Mons, France, 11 November 1918, 09:25
A light, gentle snow is falling over the khaki-clad men standing in the farmyard they have used as a billet these past three months; however, the ground is still too warm for it to settle. As I watch from the comfort of the farmer’s living room, it is plain for all to see that the general mood of the men is sombre. As they glance at watches on wrists or pull timepieces from pockets, an air of quiet anticipation is spreading across the faces of the men standing outside in the falling snow.
They are the remaining men of the 5th Irish Lancers, sharing tobacco in pipes or rolled into cigarettes. Several enamelled mugs are steaming furiously in the sharp winter air. One of their number has found a bottle of brandy to stiffen the brew and lift the spirits of these men who have lived through the carnage of what we journalists are now calling “The Great War.”
The news reached our line late last evening: a ceasefire has finally been agreed. All these brave men have to do is wait; in 90 minutes’ time, the war with Germany ends.
This group of muddied individuals, unshaven, dishevelled, but still proud, are waiting for a final patrol to return—eight men sent to secure the woodland near the town. They are the few unaware of the wonderful news that awaits them.
The single retort of a rifle round cracks through the chill morning air, a sound so familiar to these men they remain largely undisturbed in their thoughts, drinking, smoking, chatting. It was some minutes later that the pained cry for a stretcher echoes. Several men, much more than is needed, run towards the cry, mugs and tobacco all cast to the muddy ground.
As the hands on my watch move inexorably towards that fabulous hour of 11 a.m. when death and carnage will finally come to an end. They say it was a war to end all wars; to those gallant men, it is their overriding hope.
However, it is now my sad duty to inform the British people from the pages of this newspaper that the life of Private Edwin George Ellison was cruelly taken by that single bullet fired just over an hour past, across open ground at the returning patrol. The sadness among the men here is palpable. They will return to their loved ones back in England, hearts heavy with the burden of knowing one of their number was the last man killed in action. He will be buried here in Mons later today.
He was born near Leeds in 1876, worked as a barman in a pub in Hartlepool until he decided to join the army in 1902. In 1912, aged 34, he married 22-year-old Hannah Maria Burgan, a railwayman’s daughter. They had a son, James Cornelius Ellison, in 1913, but just a year later, in the summer of 1914, Ellison had been one of the 120,000 strong British Expeditionary Force, according to the Kaiser “a contemptible little army” that was shipped to France.
He arrived on 17 August and was called into action seven days later, going on to endure the horrors of trench and chemical warfare.
Posted 11 November 1918
The Leeds Enquirer, March 3rd, 1919
King George V visited the city of Leeds to personally relay his thanks to the people of the city for their endurance and stoicism during the war years, making special reference to those who had lost sons and husbands during the conflict, in particular the last man to be killed, Ernest Ellison, a private in the 5th Irish Lancers.
During his visit, several arrests were made by the newly formed Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police, tasked with the weighted problem of dealing with disaffected servicemen of Irish descent who wanted to establish a free Ireland. The Irish Republican Army, henceforth known as the IRA, and its political arm Sinn Fein, have long been working to establish a free Ireland, divorced from British colonial rule.
During the King’s visit, a small group of men later identified as key members of a splinter group of the IRA had planned to attack the King’s train by using explosives to derail the train and take as many prisoners as possible to hold while negotiations were held.
A fierce gun battle ensued, with several hundred rounds being fired by both the police, Special Branch, and the guerrilla force.
Several arrests were made by Special Branch.
One of those men arrested was Albert O’Hara, formerly of the 5th Irish Lancers, who, during his summary trial and conviction for treason, stated to the court:
“On the 11 November 1918, I carried my long-time friend and brother in arms to his grave, a part of Belgium that will now be forever Ireland. His name, Ernest Ellison, the last British soldier to fall. He was my friend; we together endured the worst of hardships while witnessing unparalleled acts of bravery by ordinary men. Fighting for a better world, according to the King himself, “a land fit for heroes.” It never was.
I am now resigned to my fate and console myself with the thought that my friend Ernest lost his life, while I am proud to be the first Irishman to give my life to the English hangman as my countrymen continue the fight for a free Ireland.”
Albert O’Hara will be executed on April 13 at 8 a.m. by Mr. Pierpoint in the prescribed lawful manner.
Posted March 3, 1918, from Leeds Crown Court