Biography of Private Ernest Smith (25187)
10th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment)
Died 20th September 1917

Soldier

  • Name: Ernest Smith
  • Date of birth: 1886
  • Place of Birth: Gosberton Clough, Lincolnshire, England
  • Date of Birth Registration: July – September 1886
  • Place of Birth Registration: Spalding, Lincolnshire, England

Father

  • Name: John Thomas Smith
  • DOB: 1851
  • Place of Birth: Bourne, Lincolnshire, England
  • Occupation: Farmer

Mother

  • Name: Ellen Barsley Baxter
  • DOB: 1857
  • Place Of Birth: Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire, England
  • Marriage: 1877 Spalding District

Siblings: (Name), (DOB), (POB)

  • Joseph Henry Smith, 1878, Pinchbeck
  • Thomas Smith, 1879, Pinchbeck (Died 1879)
  • John Robert Smith, 1881, Pinchbeck
  • Edward Smith, 1882, Pinchbeck
  • Mary Ann Smith, 1883, Pinchbeck
  • William Smith, 1884, Pinchbeck (Died 1886)
  • Charles Smith, 1885, Pinchbeck
  • Ernest Smith, 1886, Gosberton Clough
  • Henry Smith, 1888, Pinchbeck
  • Plus 1 more whose names are unknown taken from the 1911 census

 

Census

  • 1891: Ernest is living with his parents at Beck Bank, Gosberton, Lincolnshire.
  • 1901: Ernest is living with his parents at Northgate, Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire.
  • 1911: Ernest is living with his wife in her parents house at Mill Green Farm, West Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire. The census gives him an age of 24 and he is listed as a Farmer’s son, working on farm.
Relatives in services

  • None found

Wife

  • Name: Marian Ada Smith
  • Date of birth: 1886
  • Place of Birth: Pinchbeck

Marriage

  • Date of Marriage: 12th November 1910
  • Place of Marriage: Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire, England

Children

  • Trevor John Smith, 1911, Pinchbeck

Wife’s parents

  • Father: Joshua Smith
  • Mother: Martha Paniston

Newspaper Mentions

  • Grantham Journal Saturday 10th November 1917
    Wounded and Missing
    Duke of Wellington’s
    Smith 25187 E. (Bourne)

 

  • Lincolnshire Echo Wednesday November 28th 1917
    OFFICIAL LOCAL CASUALTIES.
    KILLED
    DUKE OF WELLINGTON’S
    Smith, 25187 Pre. E. (Bourne)

 

  • Sheffield Daily Telegraph Wednesday 28th November 1917
    N.C.O.’S AND MEN.
    KILLED
    DUKE OF WELLINGTON’S
    Smith (25187). E. (Bourne)

     

    • Grantham Journal Saturday 1st December 1917
      N.C.O.’s and Men.
      Killed
      Duke of Wellington’s
      Smith, 25187 E, (Bourne)

    Military Records

    Attestation Papers

    • Available

    Soldier’s Died In The Great War

    • These records show that Private Ernest Smith, 25187, 10th Bn Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment was killed in action on 20th September 1917 in the Western European Theatre in France and Flanders.

    Pension Records

    • Available

    Effects Left To

    • Wife Marian A

    Medals

    • The British Medal
    • The Victory Medal

    Memorials

    • UK:
    • Bourne, Bourne War Memorial in the Memorial Gardens
    • Pinchbeck War Memorial

     

    © Beth Lawrence

    © Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

    © Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

    © Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

    © Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

    Military Service Timeline

    • Enlisted in Bourne 10th December 1915

     

    • This is ongoing research and will be posted when completed

    Sources

    • WW1 Soldier’s Records (www.ancestry.co.uk)
    • British Newspaper Archive.
    • Fold 3
    • Find My Past
    • Genealogist
    • Forces War Records
    • British Army Service Numbers
    • War Gratuity Calculator
    • Commonwealth War Graves Commission
    • National Archives – Battalion War Diaries
    • General Registry Office