Rfn
Ernest Gotlop
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 29/05/1890 |
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Place of birth: Kensington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Clothier Cutter |
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Religion: Judaism |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Rifleman |
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Service number: 47093 |
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Units: — Royal Irish Rifles, 13th Bn. (1st County Down) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 16/08/1917 |
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Place of death: Somme - Wiesengut, Saint-Julien, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 27 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 139 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Ernest Gotlop was born in Kensington, Middlesex, in 1890. His parents, Solomon and Elizabeth Gotlop, originated from present-day Poland and Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. They married in London in 1868. Solomon owned a tailor shop in Kensington, and Ernest began working for his father. Ernest enlisted in West London, and by the time of the Battle of Passchendaele, he was serving with the 13th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, part of the 108th Brigade of the 36th (Ulster) Division.
On 16 August 1917, the division took up positions just south of the village of Sint-Juliaan. The 108th Brigade advanced on the right, alongside the 109th Brigade on the left. The 16th (Irish) Division was positioned to their right. The 13th Royal Irish Rifles and the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers led the attack, with the 12th in support and the 11th in reserve.
At 4:45 a.m., the assault began behind a creeping barrage. But the boggy terrain made progress difficult. Waterlogged craters and flooded trenches turned the battlefield into a quagmire. The leading troops came under intense machine-gun and rifle fire from German bunkers at Somme Farm. Although they managed to pass it, they could not hold it, forcing the companies to dig in nearby.
Support troops and reserves were sent forward but were heavily pinned down by fire from Gallipoli, Hindu Cottage, and Aisne Farm on the right, and Pond Farm and Hindu Cottage on the left. Within an hour, the battalion had to withdraw. A second assault, supported by headquarters personnel, was also repelled by fierce crossfire. Disorganized and depleted, the brigade fell back to its original positions. Officers regrouped the remaining men and worked to stabilize the line. The next day, the 108th Brigade was relieved.
The attack was a complete failure. The two Irish divisions gained almost no ground. No further assaults were attempted that day.
Twenty-seven-year-old Rifleman Ernest Gotlop was killed in action during the attack on Somme Farm. Ernest has no known grave and is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial
On 16 August 1917, the division took up positions just south of the village of Sint-Juliaan. The 108th Brigade advanced on the right, alongside the 109th Brigade on the left. The 16th (Irish) Division was positioned to their right. The 13th Royal Irish Rifles and the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers led the attack, with the 12th in support and the 11th in reserve.
At 4:45 a.m., the assault began behind a creeping barrage. But the boggy terrain made progress difficult. Waterlogged craters and flooded trenches turned the battlefield into a quagmire. The leading troops came under intense machine-gun and rifle fire from German bunkers at Somme Farm. Although they managed to pass it, they could not hold it, forcing the companies to dig in nearby.
Support troops and reserves were sent forward but were heavily pinned down by fire from Gallipoli, Hindu Cottage, and Aisne Farm on the right, and Pond Farm and Hindu Cottage on the left. Within an hour, the battalion had to withdraw. A second assault, supported by headquarters personnel, was also repelled by fierce crossfire. Disorganized and depleted, the brigade fell back to its original positions. Officers regrouped the remaining men and worked to stabilize the line. The next day, the 108th Brigade was relieved.
The attack was a complete failure. The two Irish divisions gained almost no ground. No further assaults were attempted that day.
Twenty-seven-year-old Rifleman Ernest Gotlop was killed in action during the attack on Somme Farm. Ernest has no known grave and is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial
Sources 3
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13 Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2506/3). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Sources used |
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Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), RG14). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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McCarthy Chris, Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018), pg 52-55. Sources used |
More information 4
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/840327 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=b97a508a-338b-4344-a7b6-b63e47498ba6 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/1397715 |
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A Street Near You https://astreetnearyou.org/person/840327/ |