Name
Ernest Wilfred Bennett
30 January 1896
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
04/09/1916
20
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
5420
Hertfordshire Regiment
1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
KNIGHTSBRIDGE CEMETERY, MESNIL-MARTINSART
D.24
France
Headstone Inscription
None
UK & Other Memorials
4 Co' Hertfordshire Reg' Territorials’ Memorial, Hitchin, St Mary's Church Roll of Honour, Hitchin, Welwyn Village Memorial, St Mary the Virgin Roll of Honour, Welwyn
Pre War
Ernest Wilfred Bennett was born in Welwyn on 30 January 1896 to George and Mary Ann Bennett and baptised on 5th April 1896 in St Mary's, Welwyn.
On the 1901 Census the family were living in Mill Lane, Welwyn but he had moved out by 1911 and was living with and working as a servant to fruiterer and game dealer Rebecca Thoday in North Street, Welwyn. He was also a gardener to Sir Evelyn de la Rue at Lockleys. He was living at the Old Rectory, Welwyn at the time of his enlistment.
Wartime Service
Ernest enlisted in Hertford in May 1915 and served in the Hertfordshire Regiment. After training he was sent to the Western Front, leaving for France from Southampton on 6 May 1916.
He was sent to No. 6 Entrenching battalion and on 22 June joined the 1st Battalion on the Somme. At the time of his death, the 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment were part of the 118th Brigade of the 39th Division in V Corps. The Division attacked north of the River Ancre on the 3rd September 1916 with the Hertfordshires in reserve. The weather at the time was showery with an inch of rain on the 4th September and the temperature 66°F.
The attack was unsuccessful and they remained in the area until 12 September when they moved to Engelbelmer. Ernest died on 4 September 1916, at the 134th Field Ambulance, from wounds sustained in action during the Battle of the Somme. He was buried at Knightsbridge Cemetery, Mesnil-Martinsart, France.
Additional Information
His mother was awarded pay owing and a war gratuity of £4. His two brothers, William, a driver in the Army Service Corps and Herbert, serving in the Rifle Brigade, both survived the war.
Ernest is also commemorated on the grave of his parents in Welwyn Cemetery. Buried in the same cemetery as J.F. Parcell (Hitchin and Pirton).
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Paul Jiggens, Welwyn and District History Society - www.welwynww1.co.uk Adrian Dunne, David C Baines, Jonty Wild,
