Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree--Corporal Ernest Edward Forster

 

Merville, Departement du Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

A Corporal with the 1st Battalion, Ernest died on 4th of May 1918 aged 30. His paternal grandparents were Isaac Forster 1801-1890 and Phoebe Mayes 1804-1873.  His maternal grandparents were Richard Wincup 1816-1871 and Sarah Brown 1817-1892.

Ernest was born at Lowestoft on 27 August 1887, a son of John Forster and Charlotte Wincup. He was baptised at Christ Church, Lowestoft, on 8 February 1888 and his family lived at East Raglan Street. In 1891 his family lived at 40 Queens Road and in 1901 at 16 Queens Road. John and Charlotte Forster  had nine children.  They were:

1.      Henry James Forster 1868–1877

2.      Clara Forster 1870–1949

3.      Alfred Forster 1872–1908

4.      Emma Jane Forster 1874–1947

5.      John Arthur Forster 1877–1951

6.      Thomas Henry Forster 1878–1884

7.      Frederick Charles Forster 1884–1963

                                        8.      Ernest Edward Forster 1887–1918

                                        9.      Herbert Arnold Forster 1889–1954

On 11 July 1908 Ernest married Anna Laura Powell at Saint Margaret’s Church. Ernest was a carpenter living at 16 Queens Road and Anna lived at 2 Trafalgar Street. In 1911 they lived at 7 Edinburgh Road and Ernest was a carpenter in the building industry. 

Ernest volunteered and enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. He joined the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion Suffolk Regiment. In 1917 he was renumbered 265104 and subsequently was posted to the 8th Battalion in France and it is likely that he was transferred to the Bedfordshire Regiment, to join its 1st Battalion, in February 1918 when the 8th Battalion was disbanded. On 1 May 1918 the 1st Battalion were in support in Nieppe Forest. On 4 May they were employed in making tracks to the front line battalion headquarters, digging, wiring and providing carrying parties. The battalion war diary shows that one man was killed, this was Ernest, and seven wounded. Ernest was buried at map reference K.25.b.8.6 and his grave marked with a cross and a photograph attached. Later the Grave Registration Unit exhumed Ernest and he was reburied at Merville: they used the cross and photograph as evidence of his identity.    

In 1918 Anna was living at 54 Queens Road, later she moved to 60 Mile End Road, Norwich, but returned to Lowestoft and lived at 13 Trafalgar Street. She married Arthur Jarvis in July 1923 and died in June 1958.

Genealogy:  Ernest Edward Forster 1887-1918 was the son of John Forster 1847-1910 and his brother was Thomas Forster 1837-1888 and his daughter was Caroline Forster 1864-1906 and her husband was George "Pikey" William Welch-Adams 1867-1940.