Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Hollybrook Memorial | Southampton | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.125 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 24C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
With thanks to W.Bro. Rod Gibson (Suffolk).Born at Great Catworth, Huntingdon in 1876, fifth child, fourth son of the ten children of Henry Hebbes and Elizabeth Hebbes, born between 1868 and 1890, of Aspley Heath, Woburn Sands, Bedfordshire. His father Harry was shown as a Brickmaker in the 1881 and 1891 census returns and he was a Sexton in the 1901 and 1911 returns, a position he held at St. Michaels for 28 years, (1893-1921). His parents had their Golden Wedding in July, 1917. Ernest was closely connected to the church and also the Unionist party. He worked as an election agent for the Unionist candidate in a previous election, and acted as agent in the Isle of Wight, where the Unionists took the Liberal seat of Sir E. J. Seeley.
In 1891, he was employed as a Telegraph Messenger, living at home with 5 brothers and 1 sister at "Higgins Brickyard," Newport Pagnell. In 1901, he had become a Brewers Clerk.
Education & Career :
Political Agent, (1905).
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 4th Battalion The Suffolk Regiment |
1/4th Battalion August 1914 : in Portman Road, Ipswich. Part of Norfolk & Suffolk Brigade, East Anglian Division. 9 November 1914 : landed at Le Havre, having left the Division. Attached to the Jullundur Brigade of the 3rd (Lahore) Division. 15 November 1915 : transferred to 46th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division. 22 February 1916 : transferred to 98th Brigade, 33rd Division. 15 February 1918 : transferred to 58th (2nd London) Division as Pioneer Battalion. |
| Action : SS Apapa, Sinking of |
"Apapa" was defensively-armed and on 28 November 1917, 3 miles N by E from Lynas Point, near Amlwch, Anglesey, she was torpedoed without warning and sunk by a German submarine. 77 lives were lost and there were 64 survivors. Apapa was sunk by the German submarine U-96 while the steamer was on a voyage from Lagos for Liverpool carrying passengers and general cargo.
Detail :
LIEUTENANT ERNEST ARTHUR HEBBES Died 28th November 1917 Nigeria Regiment, 4th Battalion, Royal West African Frontier Force. (Attached from Suffolk Regiment, 4th Battalion Territorials). Lost at Sea aboard the SS Apapa.
He was gazetted in 1915, and sent to West Africa for ... special Government work in October of 1916. There was fierce fighting in West Africa, with both side using local natives in their armies. He was returning on the SS Apapa for leave, after being in Africa for a year, when it was torpedoed by U-boat U-96.
He was Gazetted 2nd Lt. On 2nd September 1915 and posted to 4th Territorial Bn. Suffolk Regiment. He was attached to the Nigeria Regiment, West Africa Frontier Force. He was lost when returning to England from Africa on the SS Apapa, an armed merchantman of some 7,832 tons, which was hit by two torpedoes. His medal card and CWGC notes state that he drowned, but he may well have been killed in the explosions. Some 77 lives, crew and civilians, were lost.
His medal card shows "Dead 28/11/17" and that he "Drowned". For his service in the Great War he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. These were sent to his father at Appley Heath, Woburn Sands.
He is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial Southampton.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Saint Margaret's No. 1452 E.C. | Suffolk |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
13th March 1905 | 10th April 1905 | 8th May 1905 |
Past Provincial Grand Organist
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley