Ernest John Holway
Memorial: Hanham - High Street
Regiment: Royal Engineers
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Sapper 494757
Parents: John Allen and Ada Holway (nee Beauchamp)
Home address: 2 Albert Road, Hanham, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Stable Hand / Groom
Date of birth: 1891
Place of birth: Marston Bigot, Somerset
Date of death: 28/03/1918
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France Kingswood Holy Trinity and Hanham High Street Memorials
Age: 27
Further information:
Ernest was born in Marston Bigot Somerset, the son of a coachman groom and the eldest child of seven with two sisters and four brothers one of whom died as a child. In 1911, having followed in his father's footsteps, Ernest was working as a stable hand on the Bayham Lamberhurst Estate in Kent.
Ernest John Holway served with the 353rd Electrical and Mechanical Company, Royal Engineers and was Killed in Action on 28 March 1918 age 27.
Ernest lost his life during Operation Michael (21 Mar 1918 – 5 Apr 1918) when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields. Operation Michael was a victory for the Germans and cost the allies 239,800 casualties. Ernest was initially listed as missing and although his body was never found, he was later presumed killed in action. Pozieres Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/