Ernest's Story.
Ernest was born in Lymm in 1895 son of Robert Clare, but from a very young age he lived with his Aunt and Uncle, Alice and Thomas Wilson in Rushgreen, Lymm. In civilian life he was employed as a labourer. He enlisted in Frodsham on 7th September 1914 and was posted to France on 26th September 1915. He was promoted to Sergeant on 20th August 1916.He was killed by a sniper on 16th February 1917 aged 23.
A letter written by his fellow comrade Private Harry Owen to Ernest's Aunt and Uncle states:
"Ernest's death was a terrible shock to me and my comrades, having known him from the first day he enlisted. He was a soldier and a hero. Fortune favoured him long and then the hand of fate takes him away from us. I can sincerely say that he left a splended reputation behind him and will ever be looked upon by officers and men as a hero and a man. He did his duty bearing a cheerful face."
Researched and compiled by Lynn Smith