No.7296, Sergeant, Ernest James S LAMBERT
Aged 26
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Born in 1889 (1st qtr Bury St.Edmunds 4a:716) son of George and Jane LAMBERT (née WRIGHT)
1891 census...Aged 2, he was at 50 Victoria Street, Bury St.Edmunds with his father George LAMBERT [43] coachman/ pork butcher born Beyton; his mother Jane [41]; brothers Charles [13] and George W [10]. All except his father born in Bury St.Edmunds. 1901 census...Aged 12, he was at 152 Cemetery Road with his parents(father now a gardener); brother Charles (carpenter/joiner). 1911 census...Aged 22, he was a Corporal in the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment in Egypt. At 32 York Road, Bury St.Edmunds were his widowed mother, a greengrocer; his brother George (assisting in business with his wife May [30] and their daughter Evelyn [2]. |
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He enlisted in Bury St.Edmunds.
The war diary for 8th May 1915 is far too long for here. The Battle for the Frenzenberg Ridge will remain long in the history of the Suffolk Regiment. One of their bloodiest encounters of the war at that stage, the battalion had been warned they were expected to hold at all costs. The artillery barrage unleashed on them was the worst they had encountered, all communication for up to two miles behind their line was cut, the only route to them was through Ypres itself, and enduring the artillery barrage. The enemy succeeded in breaching the right flank and before mid day the battalion was over come. They had suffered 21 Officer casualties and 434 Other Ranks were either dead, wounded and missing, or just missing. That is about half the fighting strength of a battalion. CWGC have the dead on the 8th as 95, only one has an identified grave.
click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
