Ernest Frederick Poole

A Private with the 9th Battalion, Ernest died on 20th of November 1917 at the age of 19. 

Ernest was born at Ramsgate, Kent, in 1898, a son of Robert and Harriett Poole. In 1901 his family lived at 3, The Coastguard Station, Saint Lawrence Intra, Ramsgate. By 1911 Ernest’s family had moved to Lowestoft and were living at 14 Sandringham Road. Ernest’s father died in 1919 and later his mother lived at 243 Raglan Street.

Ernest enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. He joined the Bedfordshire Regiment, service number 39786, and was posted to the 1st Battalion in France. Ernest was then transferred to the Essex Regiment, service number 41854, and posted to the 9th Battalion. 

There is no record of when, where, or how, Ernest was wounded, but the 9th Battalion War Diary shows that on 17 November 1917 the battalion were at Fins Peiziere in readiness for an attack on the Hindenburg Line on 20 November. It is possible that he was wounded during this attack. Ernest is buried at Tincourt which was the base for a number of Casualty Clearing Stations, and it is likely that he had been evacuated there for treatment and succumbed to his wounds on 20 November. 

Ernest’s father served in the Merchant Navy and joined the Royal Navy in 1894 and served with the Coastguard. He was discharged, with a pension in 1911, but was recalled for service in August 1914. He was demobilized on 6 May 1919, and died on 6 June 1919 from influenza.