Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree--Ernest Dann and the 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment

 

A Private with the 2nd Battalion, Ernest died on 16th of December 1914 at the age of 40. 

Ernest was born at Aldeby, Norfolk, in 1874, a son of George Dann (1844-1916) and Eliza Hammond (1842-1881). In early 1881, his family lived at Waterheath Cottage, Aldeby, near Loddon. In September 1881 his mother had died, his father remarried, and the family had moved to Lowestoft, living at Stanley Cottages, 2 Carlton Road, and Ernest was a house painter.

On 31 May 1896 Ernest married Ellen Read at Saint Peter’s Church, Kikley. Ernest was a painter and they both lived at Kirkley. By 1901 they were living at 92 Saint Leonard’s Road, Kirkley, and Ernest was a house painter and decorator. This was still their home in 1911 when Ernest was still in the same occupation.

Ernest and Ellen had five children.  They were:

1.       A female child born in 1898 and died within 3 months in the same year.

2.       Olive Ellen 1900-1973

3.       Reginald Ernest 1901-1978

4.       Ernest George Henry 1908-1967

5.       Victor Alfred 1911-1986

After Ernest’s death in the Great War,  Ellen married George Tye and lived at 142 Carlton Road. 

Ernest volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft soon after the war began and joined the Suffolk Regiment (he may have been enlisted on Special Reserve terms as some records show his service number as 3/9475). He arrived in France on 10th October 1914 and was posted to the 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment. He was one of the reinforcements that joined the battalion after it had been decimated at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August 1914. (It is possible that he was in the draft of 2 officers and 92 men that joined the battalion on 12 October 1914, bringing the battalion strength up to around 300).

In mid-December 1914 the 2nd Battalion were in trenches at Petit Bois, near Messines, Belgium. Around 6 p.m. on 16 December the battalion were to be relieved by men from the Wiltshire Regiment. During the relief the Germans opened fire and four men, including Ernest, were killed and three others wounded. (See battalion war diary WO 95/1424/1: Ernest is named in the war diary as one of those killed on 16 December 1914)

It is quite likely that he had a battlefield grave. Later in the war the area was mined and fought over several times and many battlefield graves from earlier in the war would have been lost. Ernest thus has no known grave and in commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres. 

The King Visits the War Front

During the First World War the British monarchy played a key role in the war effort. In the period from 1914-1916, before conscription was brought in, ideas about defending one’s ‘King and Country’ were central to recruitment campaigns, with the slogan appearing on posters, on postcards, at memorial services for the fallen and in speeches. In October 1915, the king issued an appeal in the press for volunteers in conjunction with the launch of the Derby Scheme.

The monarchy successfully associated itself with war patriotism in the first years of the war, to the extent that its close familial links with Germany – the King was a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm II – as well as its German ancestral heritage were virtually entirely disregarded until 1917. That year, the King’s lead advisor, his private secretary Lord Stamfordham, panicked by the outbreak of the February Russian Revolution and the way that Russian revolutionaries had used the Tsarina Alexandra’s German birth to stir up the overthrow of the Tsar, deemed it wise to pre-emptively change the royal dynastic name to Windsor to ensure that no potential revolutionaries in Britain could ever similarly slander its royals about their German origins. The name change proved hugely popular.

The king was also very focused on promoting the welfare of the troops and made six visits to the Western Front during the war to boost morale and to see for himself how those whom he saw as ‘his’ soldiers were being treated.

During the First World War, King George V undertook several visits to the Western Front to witness for himself the situation of his Armed Forces: 29 November – 5 December 1914, 21 October – 1 November 1915, 7 – 15 August 1916, 3 – 14 July 1917, 28 – 30 March 1918, 5 – 13 August 1918, 27 November – 10 December 1918.

On the afternoon of the 3 December 1914, King George V visited the Headquarters of the 3rd Division of the British Army stationed at Scherpenburg Hill. He climbed to the top of this hill "…from where we got a splendid view of the battlefield, as it was a remarkably clear afternoon. We were only about three miles from the enemy's trenches. Ypres, Gheluvelt, Wytschaete, Messines & Mont Kemmel being easily seen with glasses…. While on the hill I received a message by telephone from Major Baird & Officers of the Gordon Highlanders in the trenches…I have now seen all the troops out here in the last three days except those actually in the trenches".

 

Here is the extract from the 3^rd Division, 8^th Brigade, 2^nd Battalion of The Suffolk Regiment for December 1914:

Dec: 1^st                 SCHERPENBURG  3:15 P.M.          Gen. Smith-Derrien [General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien, GCB, GCMG, DSO, ADC] inspected the battalion which was drawn up in mass.  Lt. Col. H.F.H. Clifford (commanding).   A Coy. Capt. Temple.  B Coy. Capt. De Crespigny, C Coy. Capt. Hausburg, D Coy. Capt. Caultey, Adjt. Lt Williams.  [Gen. Smith-Dorrien addressed the Battalion]

Dec: 2^nd                                                                                Mil. In billets.  Lt. Daelting & 65 other ranks arrived.

Dec: 3^rd                                                 1:10 P.M.             At 1:10 PM. The battalion lined the LOCRE – SCHERPENBURG Road facing West.  A detachment under Capt Hugh Dawson Squirl-Dawson and 50 picked men, were paraded at the place where “H.M. The King” presented medals.  Afterwards “H.M. The King” passed slowly along the line in his motor accompanied by Gen. Smith-Dorrien & Brig. Gen Bowes, Commanding our (The 8^th) Brigade asking a few questions of the commanding officer.  H.M. proceeded to SCHERPENBURG HILL & viewed our & the German trenches.  On arrival time the artillery fired at the trenches.

                                KEMMEL              4:00 P.M.             Battalion paraded & marched to KEMMEL & took over the trenches from the Royal Scots. Pte. Rawlins wounded during the relief.

Dec: 4^th                                                 6:00 A.M.            Ptes. Markham & Beckett killed by the trenches collapsing owing to weather conditions.

                                                                8:00 A.M.            Sgt. Dunn killed.  CQMS Sawyer, Sgt. Place, Pte. Chinney, H.  badly wounded owing to hand grenade exploding on being examined.  Pte. Cross wounded 10:00 A.M. when digging communication trench.  Pte. Loyalt killed 11:00 A.M. by German rifle grenade.  All quiet during the day. 

Dec: 5^th                                                                                 All quiet.

Dec: 6^th                 WESTOUTRE       6:15 P.M.             Relieved by Royal Scots Fusiliers.  Pte. Cross died of wounds.  Marched independently by Coys. from KEMMEL to billets in WESTOUTRE.  A draft of 52 men arrived under C.S.M. McGough, who rejoined from hospital.

Dec: 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 10^th                                                        In billets in WESTOUTRE.

Dec: 11^th                                                                              In billets in WESTOUTRE.  A draft of 65 men under 2/Lt Roberts arrived about noon.

Dec: 12^th, 13^th                                                                    In billets in WESTOUTRE.

Dec: 14^th              WESTOUTRE       2:45 A.M.            Royal Scots & Gordon Highlanders were in close billets in KEMMEL.  – Suffolks & Middlesex marched at 2:45 A.M. to a position on main KEMMEL – YPRES road, Suffolks in reserve to Royal Scots. 

KEMMEL – YPRES ROAD                At 7:00 A.M. a big bombardment of massed French & English artillery took place.  At 8:00 A.M. The 8^th Bde: Gordon Highlanders on the right, Royal Scots on the left attacked the high ground south of PETIT BOIS and PETIT BOIS respectively.  Royal Scots captured a German trench on west edge of PETIT BOIS taking two machine guns and 30 to 40 prisoners and an officer.  The Gordon Highlanders could not reach the trench & lost 7 officers & 253 other ranks.  The Royal Scots 5 officers and 160 other ranks.  The French did not advance on the left.  The WYTCHAETE – MESSINES position on the right was not attacked as part of the scheme but fired onto by our trenches. 

PETIT BOIS          4:30 P.M.             At 4:30 the Battalion moved up to take over the ground secured by the Royal Scots.  A Coy. under the command of Capt. Temple [Captain Arthur Hilliard Williams Temple] relieved the Royal Scots in the captured German Trench.  20 minutes later he was shot through the head & fell into the arms of Pte. Girbow who was shot dead the next day in the same place.  Capt. Squirl Dawson then took over command of A Coy.  That night Pte. Martin, [Frank Roland]. 8914 was killed and five others wounded.

Dec: 15^th                                              3:00 P.M.             About 3:00 P.M. some 80 Germans appeared about 50 yards in front of “A” Coy. Dressed in khaki digging.  They were thought to be R.E. [Royal Engineers] when recognized as enemy fire was opened.  They then signalled “surrender” but on our men going out in two small parties on each flank, to take them over, they were fired on.  At this we opened rapid fire on the exposed Germans.  Pte. Francis, No. 7992 who volunteered to take a message across a meadow from PETIT BOIS to the M. G. officer ran the gauntlet for 80 yards when he was shot dead.

Dec: 15^th              PETIT BOIS          6:00 P.M.             Relieved by the Wiltshire Regt. ---- Royal Irish Rifles took over the trench captured by the Royal Scots.  During the relief the Germans opened fire and we sustained the following casualties.  Ptes. 9319 Anderson W., 9475 Dann E., 8863 West B., 3/8270 Watson T. [Private Thomas Watson] and three wounded.  We then marched to LOCRE.

Dec: 16^th – 17^th  LOCRE                                                   In Billets

Dec: 18^th              LOCRE                                                   In Billets

                                                                5:30 P.M.             Took over trenches from the Worchestershire Regt.  H.Q. at PIGSTYE FARM.

Dec: 19^th              KEMMEL                                              In the trenches – five men wounded.

Dec: 20^th              KEMMEL                                              In the trenches.  Pte Chaplin 3/9039 [Private Charles George Chaplin] killed and one wounded.

Dec: 21^st               WESTOUTRE                                       In the trenches.  Relieved by Royal Fusiliers about 5:30 P.M.  two men wounded during the relief.  Battn. Marched to WESTOUTRE.

Dec: 22^nd – 26^th WESTOUTRE                                       In billets in WESTOUTRE.  X mas Day a draft of 82 men under 2Lt. Schroeder arrived.

Dec: 27^th              WESTOUTRE                                       In billets in WESTOUTRE.

                                                                5:30 P.M.             Took over the trenches from the H. A. C.  H. Q. at VROILANDHOEK farm.  1 man wounded Pte. Cobbold 9038.

Dec: 28^th              KEMMEL                                              In the trenches.

Dec: 29^th              KEMMEL                                              In the trenches.  One man wounded.

Dec: 30^th              KEMMEL                                              In the trenches.  Pte. Wilson 8790 killed.  Lt. Col. Bridgeford, Major Wilkinson & Lt. Tomrans came (King’s Shropshire Light Infantry) to learn trench life.  Major Cory of the 3^rd Division staff visited our trenches.

Dec: 31^st               WESTROUTRE                                    In the trenches.  Relieved about 6:00 P.M. by R.S.F.’s and 4/R.F.’s.  Marched to WESTROUTRE.