Hugh Gilmour (Service No. 4202384) was killed in action on 14 October 1944. He was a Private in the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment and was 27 years old. He was initially buried at the farm of Vogelsangs family in Overloon and subsequently re-interred on 15 July, 1946 in grave I. C. 1 at the Overloon Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. His inscription simply reads “R.I.P.”.

Military Career

It isn’t known when Hugh enlisted with the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment, though given his age, it is likely to have been early in the war. 
 
This Battalion took part in the D-Day landings in June 1944 and was then engaged throughout the Normandy Campaign, taking part in Operation Charnwood and Operation Goodwood.
 
They remained in Normandy until 15 September. They then took part in the push up through Belgium and the Netherlands with the aim of supporting the airborne troops engaged in Operation Market Garden. Following the failure to take the bridge at Arnhem in late September, the Allied Forces were left in a very precarious narrow salient through the Netherlands. It was the aim of Operation Aintree to widen this salient by heading south from Nijmegen to take Overloon and then Venray before finally eliminating a German bridgehead on the River Maas near Venlo.
 
On 9 October 1944 the Battalion found itself in Haps, just south of Nijmegen and North of Overloon. They were ordered to move south to St Anthonis on 11 October, but this was postponed to the following day due to bad weather. The move was completed on 12 October and they then moved slightly further west the next day, though with one man killed and 3 wounded.
 
On the 14 October, the day on which Hugh died, the plan was for B Company to be guided through a wood held by the Royal Ulster Rifles to its front edge from where they would carry out a recce to check if a stream was passable and if the north eastern corner of a wood to the south was held by the enemy. However, the guides were late and the move through the wood was slower than expected, so the recce did not take place. At 7.30am the Company began to advance south out of the wood. However, before the Company had advanced 100 yds the enemy opened fire from a track about another 100 yds ahead. The advance continued but came under such heavy fire with so many casualties that the Company Commander issued an order to retreat back to the Royal Ulster Rifles’ position. By this point one Lieutenant and 34 other ranks had been killed or wounded. Following a recce by the Company Commanders, it was decided to launch an attack at 1530 hours with D and A companies in the lead. The enemy had been seen moving in the area of the stream in front of the wood. It was thought that the enemy holding the Battalion objective were probably a Company strong. Immediately the attacking force came into the open they were subjected to intense artillery and mortar fire but they pressed steadily on to reach their objective. During this action the Battalion suffered very heavy casualties including four officers killed and another four wounded.
 
A total of 27 men of the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment who died that day are buried alongside each other at Overloon, including Hugh Gilmour.

Family background

Hugh McNeil Gilmour was the son of William Gilmour and Catherine Maxwell who had married in Hamilton, near Glasgow in Scotland on 30 December 1895. William was born on 24 September 1875 in Hamilton and Catherine on 22 November 1875 (or possibly 1876) in Kilwinning, Ayr.
 
They had children as follows: Harry 1898, Jane McGarry or Garry 4 December 1900, William 1902, Helen Tierney 9 November 1905, Catherine Maxwell 20 January 1908, George 1 May 1911, John 1914, Hugh McNeil 16 March 1917. The first four were born in Hamilton, Catherine in Larkhall, the next two in Kirkintilloch and Hugh in Glasgow.
 
In 1901 William and Catherine were living at 6 Brown Street in Hamilton. With them were their first two children. William was working as a Coal Miner.
 
In 1917, William was recorded as an Insurance Agent at the time of Hugh’s birth which was at 3 Edward Street in the Anderston district of Glasgow.
 
In June 1921, William and Catherine were living at that same address  – an address which seemed to include several families so was probably a Glasgow tenement.  With them were all eight children. The family of 10 were living in just 2 rooms. William was still working as an Insurance Agent for the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society. Harry was working as a Labourer for Inglis & Co Boilermakers;  Jeanie, as a Shop Assistant (General Produce); William as an Electrician for M Austin and Helen as a Message Girl for the St. George Co-op Society. Hugh was referred to here as Hugo.
 
By 1931, William and Catherine seem to have moved to Thornleigh, Stockport Road, Bredbury Cheshire. With them were their daughters, Helen Tierney Gilmour and Catherine Maxwell Gilmour. Younger children may have been present but wouldn’t be shown on this source.
 
Their son, John Gilmour, died in late 1931 in Stockport district aged just 17.
 
Three of William and Catherine’s children married in the next few years: George to Ann C Davey in 1933 in Manchester South; Helen to Thomas Nolan in 1934 in Stockport and Catherine to Ross Hogg in 1936 in Stockport.
 
In September 1939, William and Catherine were living at 54 Broadway, Bredbury, Cheshire. With them were Hugh and their married daughter Catherine Hogg and her husband Ross. Also present was a child named John Gilmour, born 12 December 1928. It isn’t certain who this was. William was now working as a Demolition Contractor and Hugh was a Demolition Contractor Motor Driver. Ross Hogg was a Public Works Labourer.
 
Hugh’s brother, George Gilmour, was living with his wife and first child at 85 Councillor Lane, Cheadle, Cheshire. George was also working as a Demolition Contractor and his wife was working as a Nurse.
 
Hugh’s sister, Helen Nolan, was living with her husband and first child at 231 Gorton Road, Stockport. Thomas was working as a Fitters’ Labourer (Motor Transport).
 
Sadly, Hugh Gilmour was killed in action on 14/10/1944.
 
The Manchester Evening News of 4 November 1944 reported his death in a North West Roll of Honour among many others as follows:
“Pte. Hugh Gilmour (Lincs. Regt.), aged 27, Broadway, Bredbury (killed).”

From FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Electoral Rolls; Military Records
Lincolnshire Regiment War Diaries via Traces of War Website
Wikipedia – information on the Lincolnshire Regiment, Operation Charnwood
Manchester Evening News of 4 November 1944

Research Byran Johncock, Elaine Gathercole