William Walter Gill -1963

A virtually fact free appreciation was given by Mona Douglas (Chap 28 This is Ellan Vannin 1965) in which she describes him as 'a very modest and retiring person, and something of a solitary'. She gives as her opinion that 'Walter Gill's best and most original contribution to Manx Culture is in his poems'.

In his introduction to the role of Charles Roeder, Gill says that he shared walks with him around 1900 but it was another 20 years or so before putting Roeder's technique of listening and note-taking into effect. He played a supporting role as Pa'zon Gale in Canon Quine's Dramatisation of Betsy Lee in Douglas in 1913. Served as Private during WW1 and was elected vice-president of Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh in 1918. In 1922 gave his address as Ballaquane Cottage Dalby, pre-war he seems to have lived in Birkenhead, in the 1930's his address was Warminster Wiltshire. During the 1940's he was for a time editor of the Proceedings of IoMNH&ASoc (he also compiled the Index to vol IV of the Journal Manx Museum) He died, I think, in Liverpool. He does not appear to have ever married, and seemed to have no immediate family.

Author of Manx Scrapbooks

#1 A Manx Scrapbook 1929
#2 Second Manx Scrapbook 1932
#3 Third Manx Scrapbook published 1963 though in MS from 1937
#4 Manx Dialect 1934

plus a book of poetry

Juan y Pherick's Journey Douglas: L.G. Meyer 1916 (the proceeds of which were put towards funding a song-book for the troops)