Biographical Notes
Joined Dunedin 18 March 1941. One of three remaining survivors on the first raft to be rescued. Recovered in Trinidad, returned to England on board the Awatea in January 1942.
On 28th July 2007, Bill’s wife died. They had met in 1943 in Oxford while they were both stationed at Farringdon barracks and married in 1946. The following message appeared on the front page of this web site in the weeks that followed Isabel’s death:
“It is with the deepest regret that I must announce the death of my Mother, Isabel Gill, wife of William Gill, President of the Dunedin Society. Isabel passed away just after 2.30 pm on Saturday 28th July, 2007, in her home town, Brighton. Those of you who knew her will remember her as a great supporter of the Dunedin Society. As a former Wren, attached to the Royal Marines during the Second World War, she never missed a Dunedin reunion and was always there beside my Father. She is sorely missed by all of us in her family.”
Stuart Gill, 29 July 2007
Sadly, six years later, I posted the following message on this website:
“It is with great regret that the Dunedin Society announces the death of Bill Gill, RM, Founding President of the Society and survivor of the sinking of HMS Dunedin. Bill passed away in Farnborough Hospital, Kent, on 29th October 2013 after a long illness, aged 92. He leaves behind him his three children, Michael, Annabel and Stuart and seven grandchildren. He is sorely missed.”
Bill’s Centenary
8th May 2021 marked the centenary of Bill Gill, RM. Sadly we lost Bill, our dad, when he was ninety-two, but we remember him fondly on what would have been his 100th birthday. One of the sixty-seven survivors of the sinking of HMS Dunedin, Bill was the driving force behind the preservation of the memory of the men of HMS Dunedin and he proudly served as the first President of the Dunedin Society.
We miss him still and always will.
Michael, Stuart and Annabel