Pupils of Gordon’s Boys Home who died in the Great War 1914-1919 No. 2116 Ernest Ewan Newman was born on the 18th October 1893 at 12 Ryder Terrace, Twickenham. His parents were Ernest Akerman (a Gentleman) and Kathleen Louise Rachel (Ewen). He had elder brothers Harold Akerman (b1886) and Cecil Robert (b1888), a sister Muriel Kathleen (b1890), and younger brothers Arthur Sidford (b1899) and Leslie Herbert (b1903). The 1901 census has the parents (father a Bank Clerk) living at 4 Illcombe Terrace, Turks Rd., Twickenham with Ernest and Arthur. The other children were living with aunts and uncles. He was at Gordon’s from 1908 to 1911 and appears on the 3rd April 1911 census as a 17 year old a part time Gardener. His damaged Army Service Record survived. He enlisted in the Army Reserve with the 3rd Battalion "Queens" Royal West Surrey Regiment in on the 22nd May 1911with the Regimental number 10014. He had previously tried to enlist but due to a Goitre in his neck he had been refused. He served for 124 days and on the 22nd September 1911 after reaching the age of 18 he was discharged and re-joined the Regiment in the Regular Army the same day for 12 years. On both Attestation forms it records that he had resided away from home at Gordon's Boys Home. He was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 122lbs.(55Kg) his trade was given as "Musician" and in an infantry battalion he would most likely have been used as a stretcher bearer. His mother Kathleen was named as next of kin with his brothers Cecil, Arthur and Leslie. He served with the 1st Battalion from the 9th October 1911 until 24th January 1914 when he was posted to the 2nd Battalion (and joined his brother Cecil) who were in South Africa at the outbreak of war. They returned to the UK on the 9th September and formed part of 22 Brigade, 7 Division which landed at Zeebrugge on the 6th October 1914. Ernest was a promoted to Corporal on the 23rd September 1914 and was with the 2/Queens who embarked with the BEF on the 4th October. He was promoted to Serjeant on the 15th April 1915. The 7th Division fought at the 1st Battle of Ypres (19th October -22nd November 1914) where his brother Cecil died, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers and Festubert, although the 2/Queens were not extensively used after Ypres. Battle of Loos On the 24th September the Battalion of 29 officers and 947 men left their billets at Verquigneul (4km SSE of Bethune) and at 11.15pm set off for the front line. They reached the support trenches known as Lancaster Lines, which were about 3km west of the village of Hulluch at 3am on the 25th. After a 40 minute artillery bombardment of the German trenches the attack was launched at 6.30am with the 2/Queens in close support of the 1st waves. At the end of the day 5 officers and 24 men had been killed (including the CO), 6 officers and 110 men were wounded and 127 men missing. Only 3 of the missing re-joined the battalion. Ernest was one of the missing, aged 22 with the rank of Sergeant, he was presumed to have died on the 25th. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial at Dud Corner Cemetery. The Loos Memorial commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have no known grave, who fell in the area from the River Lys to the old southern boundary of the First Army, east and west of Grenay. Dud Corner Cemetery is believed to be named due to the unexploded shells found there. The death of their mother was registered in the last quarter of 1915 and his brother Arthur received his “Effects” and War Gratuity totalling £21-12s-7d on the 12th May 1921. He was awarded the Pupils of Gordon’s Boys Home who died in the Great War 1914-1919 No. 2116 1914 Star (and clasp) and the British War and Victory Medals but these were returned as un-issued. They were claimed by his brother in 1925 as were the Death Plaque and Scroll. Sources: 1, 2, 3(C), 5, 7, 9, 10, 11 & 14(a) References 1. UK, Soldiers Died in WW1 (Details, often including place of enlistment) 2. Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Cemetery or Memorial) & relatives? 3. 1901 census (Military (M) or (C)) 4. 1901 census (Gordon Boys Home - Age only) 5. 1911 census (Gordon Boys Home - Age, place of birth and Trade) 6. 1911 census (Military (M) or Civilian. (C)). 7. Army Medal Card 7(a) - Rolls 7(b) - Effects 7(c) 8. Naval and marines medal roll 9. www.1914-1918 or Long Long Trail (Division, Regiment & Battalion dispositions) 10. Service Record (some survived WW2 blitz - various state of damage) 11. Reference literature (RWS War Diary and LongLong Trail)) 12. National Archive Naval Records. 13. Army Service Numbers 1881-1914 - Paul Noble (Blog) 14. Gordon’s Records (a) The Children’s Society (b) Cecil Robert served with his brother in the Royal West Surrey Regiment. He enlisted on the 29th May 1906 for 12 years – 9 with the colours and 3 in the reserve. He was allocated the Regimental number L/8863 and after 4 months at the Depot he was posted to the 2nd Battalion. At the Colchester Register Office he married Alice Mary Norman on the 17th July 1909. On the 15th October 1909 twin girls Alice Cecelia and Muriel Ethel were born in Croydon. After serving in Gibraltar for 2 years and while in Bermuda he elected on the 3rd January 1914 to extend his period with the colours to complete 12 years. He had been promoted to Serjeant and was serving in South Africa when war was declared. A daughter Kathleen Gwendoline was born on the 23rd June 1913 and baptised on the 19th October 1913 in Bermuda. On the 1st October 1914 he was serving in “D” Company when he requested that his daughter Alice, who was living with her grandparents, be moved to the Battalion married quarters. Cecil was reported wounded and missing on the 21st October 1914 and presumed to have died just 17 days after embarking with the BEF. When they embarked the Battalion had 30 Officers and 988 NCOs and men. They landed at Zeebrugge too late to help the Belgium army and were ordered to Ypres being the some of the first to arrive in the area. They took up positions east of the Ypres in the area around Zonnebeke and on the 16th were covering the Zonnebekke to Langemarch road with 29 officers and 952 men. Over the next days the Division were involve in a failed attempt to capture the town of Menin. The Battalion were in constant action and by the 18th were back in Zonnebekke where they were ordered to entrench along the Zonnebekke to Paschendale Rd. On the night of the 20th/21st were back in the Zonnebekke area with “D” Company in reserve in woods. At 8.0am on the 21st German artillery heavily shell the Queens lines chiefly the trenches held by “B”, and “D” Company. At 10am the whole line was attacked and during the day they withdrew to the trenched covering the Zonnebekke to Paschendale Rd. Pupils of Gordon’s Boys Home who died in the Great War 1914-1919 No. 2116 At the end of the day the exhausted Battalion were ordered to rendezvous in the centre of Zonnebekke. They had received 178 casualties with 2 officers and 16 men killed, 5 officers and 118 men wounded and 37 missing. Cecil’s body was never recovered and he is remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. On the 6th April 1916 his wife received his “Effects” of £12-14s-11d. She married Frederick C Stannard in 1916, the event being registered in Croydon in the last quarter. She received Cecil’s War Gratuity of £8 on the 24thSeptember 1919 Sources: 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, Extract from Chris Baker’s Long Long Trail - Battle of Loos – www.1914-1918.net/bat13.htm. On 22nd Brigade front, as the infantry moved ahead of the gas they were cut down in swathes, with the 1/South Staffordshire and 2/Royal Warwicks losing some 70% of their strength before they reached the German positions. However, men continued to press forward and by 7.30am the German support line had been captured. At 8.05am, two batteries of RFA were ordered up close behind the original front, near Notre-Dame de la Consolation - a wayside shrine. They were firing by 9.00am. By 8.45am the leading men were crossing the Lens Road, just to the South of the Vermelles-Hulluch road. There they caused much loss and disruption to German reinforcements moving into Cite St Elie. The support battalions of 20th Brigade, the 1/6/Gordon Highlanders and the 2/Border, came up with little loss, and helped launch an attack but this was halted by heavy fire. Parties pushed forward into the northern end of Gun Trench. Further artillery units were ordered to move up. T Battery RHA galloped up the Vermelles road into the former No Man's Land. By 9.30am, now reinforced by 2/Queens, the men of 22nd Brigade had captured the Hulluch Quarries, with patrols on the edge of Cite St Elie itself. Further advance was found to be impossible without further support, and the positions captured thus far at the Quarries were consolidated.