Name
Ernest Finch
1885
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
13/03/1917
33
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
48363
The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Searched but not found
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
APSLEY END (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD
NE of Church.
United Kingdom
Headstone Inscription
None
UK & Other Memorials
St Mary's Church Memorial, Apsley End,
Hemel Hempstead War Memorial,
We are not aware of any memorial in Nash Mills
Pre War
Ernest Finch was born in 1885 at Nash Mills, Abbots Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, the son of Alfred and Elizabeth Finch and one of nine children.
On the 1891 Census he was living with his family at Nash House Lodge where his father was working as a gardener. Both his brother Charles and his father worked as gardeners at Nash House.
Ernest was educated at Nash Mills school before moving to Boxmoor School in March 1895. After only a year he moved again to Apsley Boys School and remained there until 1898, leaving to start work at John Dickinson & Co in Apsley Mills.
His mother died in 1899 and by 1901 he was living with his widowed father and brother Charles and his family at Ashleigh Villas, Weymouth Street, Hemel Hempstead, and working as a box maker at the paper mill.
He remained living with his widowed father in 1911 and they then lived at 41 Weymouth Street. His brother Charles and his family were also listed in the household. Ernest was listed as an unemployed labourer.
He is said to have worked at Nash Mills and lived at 11 Weymouth Street, Hemel Hempstead prior to enlistment.
Wartime Service
Ernest attempted to enlist on several occasions and was rejected until finally, on 28 February 1917 he was successful when he enlisted at Watford, Herts and joined the Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, 23rd Labour Company.
Less than two weeks after joining up he caught a chill, his condition quickly deteriorated and he was admitted to Duston Military Hospital at Upton in Northampton. He developed pneumonia and died on 13 March 1917, age 32. He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Apsley End.
It appears he died soon after enlistment and before being sent to the Western Front, therefore his family were not eligible for a war gratuity or pension. He may not have been eligible for war medals as no record can be found.
Additional Information
A war gratuity was not admissable.
Acknowledgments
Jonty Wild, Brenda Palmer
Jonty Wild, www.hemelheroes.com., www.hemelatwar.org., www.dacorumheritage.org.uk.
