Spink, Gilbert

BORN HULL 1887. SON OF WILLIAM DOUGHTY SPINK (1857-1919) & CATHERINE ELLEN MOODY (1858-1941), OF 8, BRUNSWICK AVENUE, FRANKLIN STREET, HULL. (WAR PENSION & HULL DAILY MAIL ADDRESS 31/07/1917). HIS BROTHER, WILLIAM SPINK, WAS ALSO KILLED IN ACTION ON 01/06/1918.
Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE GILBERT SPINK 12/100. Born in 1887, Gilbert was the second of three sons to William and Catherine Spink, of 8, Brunswick Avenue, Franklin Street, Hull. A Joiner before the war, he enlisted at City Hall on 14th September 1914 joining the 12th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, ‘The Sportsmen’, before being transferred to the 11th. In all my research I am yet to find a more reluctant soldier. Military discipline definitely did not suit Gilbert. He forfeited numerous days pay for a number of periods of absence. On February 22nd 1915 he went missing and was eventually apprehended in Hull on 4th March in plain clothes. He was charged for his uniform and ‘necessities’ which he appears to have ditched when he went on the run. Undeterred he absconded again in May, and June, and July and the turn of the year found him in detention. He was charged with ‘Desertion’ in March 1916 following yet another period of absence the previous October. Gilbert was killed in action on 31st July 1916 during the Somme campaign and was buried at Le Touret Military Cemetery; he was 29 years old. Contained within his military record is an official document from the War Office confirming that owing to his having deserted His Majesty’s Service Gilbert’s family would not be receiving any medals in his name; though they did receive medals in his older brother’s name- William Doughty Spink died of wounds while serving with the 1st Battalion on 1st June 1918.