24327 Pte Ernest Alfred Valentine of the 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, died of wounds on this day, 22nd August, in 1916. Soldiers Died in The Great War records that he was born in Duston, Northamptonshire and enlisted in Northampton. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission adds no additional regimental or family information but of course records his last resting place - Heilly Station Cemetery at Mericourt-L'Abbe - and the following note:
"The 36th Casualty Clearing Station was at Heilly from April 1916. It was joined in May by the 38th, and in July by the 2/2nd London, but these hospitals had all moved on by early June 1917. The cemetery was begun in May 1916 and was used by the three medical units until April 1917..."
Ernest's number indicates that he joined the Suffolk Regiment in January 1916 and therefore he probably hadn't been in France very long before he was critically injured.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
Sources:
Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
I've borrowed the photo of Heilly Station from a fascinating blog by Sue Light which is dedicated to women who served as military nurses from the Boer War through to the end of the Great War. It's called This Intrepid Band.
2 comments:
Hallo Paul - I love this site - I've recently started another blog just to see if I could make a war memorial site out of it. I was struggling a bit, but this gives me so many ideas how to do it properly. Your daily entries do put me to shame though - I need at least 48 hours in a day!
Sue - we should form a mutual admiration club. Thanks for your compliments though and for the photo of course. Now I'm going to try and find your other blog.
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