Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.138 | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 16B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Too many CWG records
Early Life :
Ernest Watkins was born in 1882 in Welshpool and was the youngest of John and Margaret Watkins’ four children. The family lived at 4 New Street, Welshpool. Ernest had a flourishing career as a Clerk becoming a Solicitors Articled Clerk. He was also deputy to the Town Clerk and secretary of Welshpool Golf Club. Ernest was 'not a physically robust man' therefore clerical work suited him very well and he was held in very high esteem.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: Montgomeryshire Yeomanry |
| Action : Natural Causes |
Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.
Detail :
Only a month after enlisting, whilst undergoing 'arduous' outdoor training before taking up his clerical duties, Ernest contracted pneumonia and died on 8th March 1916 at the Dublin Military Infirmary. His body was returned to Welshpool and is buried at Christ Church.
Ernest is remembered on a brass plaque in New Street United Church (the plaque was originally housed next door in what was the Congregational Church where Ernest would have attended, across the road from his house). He is also remembered on the town war memorial in St. Mary’s churchyard and on the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry plaque inside St. Mary’s Church.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Welchpool No. 998 E.C. | North Wales |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
20th November 1914 | 18th December 1914 | 15th January 1915 |
Welchpool Lodge records at United Grand Lodge of England shows that Ernest "Died 7th Mar/16 on Active Service"
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