William is listed as being killed in action on 23 Sep 1915. The war diary and a newspaper report are transcribed below. William was in the trenches at Salt Lake, Suvla Bay when he was killed.
War Diary Entry
The war diary entry is very brief and states:
Salt Lake Lines [Suvla Bay] - F3 F4 etc. Sept 21st-25th: Still in occupation of first line trenches. Effective strength Officers 11 Other Ranks 522. END
Newspaper Report
Leamington Spa Courier - October 15th 1915
CUBBINGTON
KILLED IN ACTION
Official information was received on Tuesday by Mr and Mrs William Wilkes that their son, Pte. William Wilkes, 7th Gloucester Regiment, had been killed in action at the Dardenelles. Private Wilkes was 23 years of age, and prior to joining the Army was employed at the Daimler Works, Coventry.
One who knew him well writes: "He was a man of praiseworthy conduct, absolutely straightforward, a general favourite and his death is deeply regretted.
Only on Monday a letter was received from the deceased which had evidently been written but a short time before his death. In this he described the heavy fire which greeted the landing of his battalion [Suvla Bay on 7 Jul 1915] and the severe fighting which had been experienced subsequently.
