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
St Mary's Church Roll of Honour (Book), Hitchin, 4 Coy' Hertfordshire Reg' Territorials Memorial, Hitchin, Welwyn Village Memorial, St Mary the Virgin Roll of Honour, Welwyn, Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford
Pre War
Ernest Wilfred Bennett was born in Welwyn, Herts on 30 January 1896 to George and Mary Ann Bennett and baptised on 5 April 1896 in St Mary's, Welwyn.
In 1901 George was 46 and his wife 41, they were living in Mill Lane, Welwyn and George was working as a gardener domestic. The children were listed as: George (junior aged 12), Herbert Alfred (9), William Charles (7), Ernest W (5), Eva G (3) and Edith M (11 months). George he had moved out of the family home by 1911 and was living with and working as a servant to fruiterer and game dealer Rebecca Thody in North Street, Welwyn. Meanwhile, his family remained living in Mill Lane, with his parents recorded as married for 30 years with 10 children all surviving. Living with his parents were brothers George, Herbert and William, along with sisters Eva and Edith.
Before his enlistment Ernest was working as gardener to Sir Evelyn de la Rue at Lockleys, Welwyn, in the latter part of his time he was working in Finchley. He was recorded as living at The Old Rectory, Welwyn with his parents and three of his siblings when he enlisted.
Wartime Service
He enlisted in Hertford on 28 July 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. He was hurt in his right ankle in the field on 17 July 1916 and admitted to the 11th CRS [Corps Rest Station] on 21 July, re-joining his unit on the 28th.
At the time of Ernest's 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 4 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, aged 20, 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.
After his death, George received a letter from the Herts Regiment Chaplain, which read: “I cannot say how sorry I am to have such bad news to tell you about your son, PT. Ernest W. Bennett. No. 5420 Herts Regiment. He was killed in the trenches on September 4, and we buried his body yesterday afternoon in a little cemetery close by. A cross with an inscription will be erected over the grave and your son's effects will be returned to you through the quarter-master of his Regiment. It will be some comfort to you to know that he gave his life for his country, but the blow is, and must be a very heavy one. I pray that God will comfort you in your sad bereavement and enable you to remember that your son is not lost but gone before.”
National Roll of the Great War recorded: "He volunteered in May 1915, after a period of training was drafted to the western front. He took part in the fighting at the battles of Ypres and the Somme and was killed in action at the latter place on September 4th, 1916. He was entitled to the General Service and Victory medals the Old Rectory, Welwyn.
Additional Information
His mother received a war gratuity of £4 and pay owing of £5 8s 3d. A pension card exists with his mother as dependant but gives no details of any pension awarded.
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.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Paul Jiggens, Welwyn and District History Society - www.welwynww1.co.uk Adrian Dunne, David C Baines, Jonty Wild,
