Pte
Ernest Elias Cartner
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1898 |
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Place of birth: Egremont, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Butcher's Apprentice |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 244809 |
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Units: — Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 4/5th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 26/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Van Dyck Farm, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 19 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 103 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal — 15/10/1920 |
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Victory Medal Medal — 15/10/1920 |
Points of interest 1
| #1 | Place of birth |
My story
Ernest Elias Cartner, son of James and Elizabeth Cartner, was born in 1898 in Egremont, Cumberland. After school, Ernest took up an apprenticeship to learn to become a butcher. This all changed however when, in 1916, he was conscripted into the British Army. Ernest served as a Private with the 4/5th Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, in the 170th brigade of the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division.
On the 23rd and 24th October 1917, Ernest’s Division was stationed on the front line between the Houthulst Forest and the ruins of Poelkapelle. An attack took place along the front from Ypres-Roulers railway to Poelkapelle on the 26th October and the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment was involved, advancing towards the hamlet of Schaap-Balie. The attack began at 5.40am, and despite the boggy ground and the heavy fire from pill boxes and German snipers, the Battalion made it short of its first objective, capturing a pillbox at Van Dyck Farm.
Any further progress was however impossible, and the men had to lie low in waterlogged shell holes, to escape the sweeping machine-gun fire. Shellfire rained down on their new positions and although the 4/5th Loyal North was able to fend off a small German counter-attack, coming from Davoust Farm, the situation of the Battalion became dire. Any movement was answered with machine-gun fire, making it difficult to retreat or to maintain communication. The 4/5th Loyal North had no other option then to wait until they could pull back under cover of darkness.
Ernest’s battalion faced heavy casualties that day. The barely 19-year old was one of the soldiers who was possibly killed during the fighting at Van Dyck Farm. Ernest has no known grave, as most of the dead were left behind in no man’s land, when the Battalion withdrew. The young man is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
On the 23rd and 24th October 1917, Ernest’s Division was stationed on the front line between the Houthulst Forest and the ruins of Poelkapelle. An attack took place along the front from Ypres-Roulers railway to Poelkapelle on the 26th October and the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment was involved, advancing towards the hamlet of Schaap-Balie. The attack began at 5.40am, and despite the boggy ground and the heavy fire from pill boxes and German snipers, the Battalion made it short of its first objective, capturing a pillbox at Van Dyck Farm.
Any further progress was however impossible, and the men had to lie low in waterlogged shell holes, to escape the sweeping machine-gun fire. Shellfire rained down on their new positions and although the 4/5th Loyal North was able to fend off a small German counter-attack, coming from Davoust Farm, the situation of the Battalion became dire. Any movement was answered with machine-gun fire, making it difficult to retreat or to maintain communication. The 4/5th Loyal North had no other option then to wait until they could pull back under cover of darkness.
Ernest’s battalion faced heavy casualties that day. The barely 19-year old was one of the soldiers who was possibly killed during the fighting at Van Dyck Farm. Ernest has no known grave, as most of the dead were left behind in no man’s land, when the Battalion withdrew. The young man is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Sources 5
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"Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Uniform, 2018, pg. 148-149. Sources used |
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Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com Further reference |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1628241/cartner,-ernest-elias/ Sources used |
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The Long, Long Trail https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/ Sources used |
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War Diary Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 4/5th Bn. http://www.nmarchive.com/ Further reference |