Lance Corporal R/13445 Ernest Webb
Died of Wounds on Thursday, 20th September 1917, age 31.
Buried in Grave I. G. 11. at Godewaersvelde British Cemetery, Nord, France.
18th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps. 122th Brigade of 41st Division.
Husband of Mrs Agnes Elizabeth Webb, of 7, Eagle Passage, Great Bridge, Tipton, Staffs.
Born: West Bromwich, Enlisted: Tipton, Resident: Tipton.
First landed France & Flanders, 8th October 1915.
Medal entitlement: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.
Commemorated on the Tipton Library Memorial.
Commemorated here because he appears on a Tipton memorial.
Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/24316/
Genealogical Data
Birth of Ernest Webb registered June quarter 1886 in West Bromwich.
1891 Census
62 Pikehelve Street, Hill Top, West Bromwich, Staffs.
Joseph Webb (28, Labourer (Iron), born Tipton), his wife Selina (30, born Tividale) and their 5 children: Fred S. (9, Scholar, born West Bromwich), Joseph (7, Scholar, born West Bromwich), Ernest (5, Scholar, born West Bromwich), Selina (3, born West Bromwich), and George (5 months, born West Bromwich).
1901 Census
3 Eagle Passage, The Square, Tipton, Staffs.
Joseph Webb (39, Stationary Engine Driver, born Tipton), his wife Selina (40, born Tipton), and their 9 children: Frederick S. (19, Tube Works Labourer, born Tipton), Joseph (17, Tube Works Labourer, born Tipton), Ernest (14, Tube Works Labourer, born Tipton), Selina (13, born Tipton), George (10, born Tipton), John (9, born Tipton), Rebecca (7, born Tipton), William (4, born Tipton), and Elsie (1, born Tipton).
Marriage of Ernest Webb and Agnes Elizabeth Riley registered December quarter 1908 in West Bromwich.
1911 Census
7 Eagle Passage, Tipton, Staffs.
Ernest Webb (24, Tube Works Labourer, born West Bromwich), and his wife Agnes Elizabeth (20, born Walsall). Adopted Frederick Dudfield, born November 1913.
Agnes married Edward J. Wright in 1919, they had 3 children - Eva, Agnes and Joan. In 1939 they were still living at 7 Eagle Passage, Tipton.
Personal Data
Ernest and his eldest brother, Frederick, must have enlisted in the KRRC on the same day; Ernest was number R/13445 and Frederick was R/13446. Frederick at some stage became unfit for front-line soldiering and was transferred to the 1st (Garrison) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment. He died on 22 June 1917 from a 'Perforated Gastric Ulcer' and was buried in Lijssenthoek British Cemetery. He is not commemorated on this site as he was born and was resident in West Bromwich.
Ernest's younger brother, William, also served in WW1. He joined the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (17417) but was transferred to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (90474) at some stage. He was invalided out of the army in October 1918. From a family source it is known that he was shot in the face, the bullet going through one cheek and out of the other. This obviously left an indentation and scar tissue so the facial hair that grew there could not be shaved, so he always had a small dark circle of 'beard' on both cheeks.
Ernest's brother-in-law, Sidney Riley, had enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in September 1914. He was killed in action on 16th August 1917 just a month before Ernest. June to September 1917 had been a sad time for Agnes Webb, she had lost a brother-in-law, then a brother, then her husband in that period.
Ernest attested for the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) on 24th May 1915 at Wolverhampton, he was a married man aged 28 and employed as a Tube Springer. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall with a 37½-inch chest, and weighed 130 pounds, he had perfect eyesight and good physical development. After training at Belhus Park and Seaford, he arrived in France on 8th October 1915 and was posted to 'D' Company in the 2nd Battalion KRRC.
On 12th April 1916 Ernest received a Gun Shot Wound in the right arm, and was sent from Rouen to England for treatment. He spent 41 days in the Bradford War Hospital from 22nd April to 2nd June 1916, then given 10 days leave before returning to complete his convalescence. He arrived back in France on 27th September 1916 and was posted to 'A' Company in the 18th Battalion KRRC. Almost a year later on 18th September 1917, Ernest was severely wounded in action leading to his death two days later.
After Ernest's death, his outstanding army pay and allowances amounted to £4/1/4d (4 pounds, 1 shillings and 4 pence); this was paid to his widow and sole legatee, Agnes E., in November 1917. His War Gratuity was £10/0/0d (10 pounds exactly), this was also paid to Agnes in December 1919. The value of the War Gratuity suggests that Ernest had enlisted in approximately May 1915.
Ernest's widow, Mrs Agnes Webb, was given a grant of £5 on 22nd October 1917. She was then granted a Widow's Pension of 18/9d (18 shillings and 9 pence) per week, effective from 1st April 1918, for herself and their adopted son Frederick Dudfield. The widow's element of the pension would have ceased on Agnes's re-marriage in 1919, and compensated by a lump sum payment generally in the region of one year's pension; the child's pension would continue until his 16th birthday.
Action resulting in his death
After arriving back in France in September 1916 and being posted to the 18th KRRC, Ernest would have seen action at the latter stages of the Battle of the Somme in the Battle of Transloy Ridges in October 1916. In 1917, the 41st Division was involved in the Battle of Messines Ridge in June, then the opening battle of 3rd Ypres - the Battle of Pilkem Ridge on 31st July. After Pilkem Ridge, there were numerous small battles intended to improve the line for the next large-scale attack - the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge on 20th September.
On 17th September the 18th KRRC arrived at the front line near Tower Hamlets (adjacent to the Menin Road), in readiness for the assault on the 20th. 29 men from the 18th KRRC were killed on the 18th September, most likely from heavy and accurate German artillery fire on the front line. Ernest was severely wounded and died 2 days later, on 20th September, at No. 37 Casualty Clearing Station at Godewaersvelde, just over the Belgian border in France. He is buried in the adjacent Godewaersvelde British Cemetery.
Newspaper Cuttings
Birmingham Daily Post 20th October 1917
RANK AND FILE: MIDLANDS MEN.
The following casualties amongst warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men are reported under various dates:
DIED OF WOUNDS.
King's Royal Rifles Corps, Webb, 13445, Lce-Corpl., E., (Tipton).