Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Fouquieres Churchyard Extension | III. D. 11. | |
| 2. Memorial: | "The Slopes" Memorial | Buxton | |
| 3. Memorial: | St John the Baptist Church | Buxton | |
| 4. Book: | De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour | Vol. V, Pg. 168 | |
| 5. Memorial: | Ashford-in-the Water War Memorial | Derbyshire | |
| 6. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.137 | |
| 7. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 28B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Military Cross | ||
Family :
Son of George and Annie Walthew, of Stockport; husband of Maud Violet Walthew, of The White House, Salcombe, Devon.Ernest was born in Stockport, Cheshire on 22nd January 1872, the son of George (Cotton Spinner) and Annie Walthew, of Stockport, Cheshire. He had two older sisters, Florence Annie and Lavinia. In 1891 Ernest was in boarding school in Southport, Lancashire.
On 30th May 1900, Ernest married Maud Violet Clegg at St John's Church, Ranmoor, Sheffield. (She was the only daughter of Sir William Clegg, OBE), after which they moved to Heath House, Stockport Road, Cheadle. Ernest had moved into the family business, giving his occupation as "Cotton Spinner and Doubler" but as an Employer, not employee.
The 1911 Census shows him, at the age of 35, as a "Retired Cotton Spinner", living with his wife and their two children, Viola (b. 22 April 1905) and Geoffrey Brook (b. 3 March 1909), together with two children's nurses and two domestic servants, at Green Moor, Carlisle Road, Buxton.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: CRE 46th Div |
| Action : France & Flanders |
France & Flanders covers all the dates and corresponding locations which are outside the official battle nomenclature dates on the Western Front. Therefore the actions in which these men died could be considered 'normal' trench duty - the daily attrition losses which were an everyday fact of duty on the Western Front.
He was promoted to the acting position of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Corps of Royal Engineers on 1st May 1918. At the time he was an Acting Major but his substantive rank was Captain.
Detail :
Lieutenant-Colonel. 46 th Division, Royal Engineers. Killed in action 22 May 1918, aged 42. Son of George & Annie of Stockport. Husband of Maud Violet, The White House, Salcombe, Devon. Buried in Fouquires Churchyard Extension, Pas de Calais, France. George Walthew was a well known local JP. For several years (presumably during married life), Ernest had been living in Buxton and Bakewell. Awarded the Military Cross in the New Year's Honours List, rather than a specific act of gallantry, at the beginning of 1918. Promoted to the acting position of Lieutenant-Colonel on 1 May 1918. At the time he was an Acting Major but his substantive rank was Captain. As Lieutenant-Colonel, 46th Division, Royal Engineers, he was killed in action 22 May 1918, aged 42, whilst carrying out a reconnaissance, near Bethune. He was buried in Fouquières Churchyard Extension, Pas de Calais, France.
The 'Buxton Advertiser', in reporting his death (1st June 1918), called him "A man of most affable disposition, cheery and optimistic, and took a great interest in local affairs." In April 1910 he had been elected to the local (Buxton Urban District) Council, remaining until 1914 a member of East Ward and worked on the Committees for Finance, Gas and Water, Sanitation, Baths and Pump Room, Advertising and the Free Library.
He also held high office in the Buxton Freemasons and was a prominent member of the Conservative Party and was hence associated with the Union Club. He also was a member of the Committee of Management of The Devonshire Hospital.
He was a keen sportsman and a member of the High Peak Hunt and he and his horse "Wiseman" won the Point-to-Point Steeplechase in 1912 and 1913. Probate records show that Ernest left £27,486 5s 9d [£27486.29] to his widow Maud. (This sum has a relative value of about £1,102,000.00 today - 2014).
After the War CWGC Records show that family moved the Churchdale Hall, Ashford and later moved again to The White House, Salcombe, Devon, although the address recorded for Probate in January 1919 was Firwood Cottage, Salcombe, Devon. On 6 March 1925 Maud re-married Major Douglas Scott Hadow at Sialkot, Bengal, India, whilst he was serving with the Imperial Indian Police. When he died in 1954 they were living at Starrs Green Cottage, Battle, Hastings, Sussex. She died, aged 90, also in Hastings, Sussex, in the December quarter 1966.
See also: Buxton War Memorials.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Buxton No. 1688 E.C. | Derbyshire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
25th January 1909 | 22nd February 1909 | 29th March 1909 |
Junior Warden
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