Blencowe Ernest C 1880

Ernest Cecil Blencowe (Gottwaltz) [9765]

KIA 16 Feb 1916

1880-1916

A rather tenuous connection to the Blencowe DNA but he was named Blencowe when killed and so for no other reason than to have everyone with the surname in the study was included.

Fathers Name: Ernest Gottwaltz 1856-1908; Oldest Known Ancestor.

Mothers Name: Sarah Harriet Ellen (nee Smee).

Marriage Dt:1910 Ellen Mary Blanche Edwards in 1910 at St Edwards Church Dolton, Torrington district of Devon. Ellen’s father was The Reverend Nathaniel Edwards, who was the Vicar at East Budleigh when Ellen was born in 1875.

Kin Comments:

Spouse: Ellen Mary Blanche Edwards 1875-1958 was a VAD nurse.

Children: Eileen WB 1913

Research: Birth; Derby Jan-Mar 1881 Vol 7b page 569.

Born in 1880 in Derby, Derbyshire to Ernest Gottwaltz and Sarah Harriet Ellen (nee Smee), Ernest was educated in Bournemouth and Sherborne College, Wiltshire.

He was living in London by 1901 and changed his name to Blencowe by Deed Poll. He married Ellen Mary Blanche Edwards in 1910 in the Torrington district of Devon. Ellen’s father was The Reverend Nathaniel Edwards, who was the Vicar at East Budleigh when Ellen was born in 1875.


Online War Photo Album	Dorset Regiment

Blencowe Ernest Cecil, 1880, Derby, Captain, 6^th Dorsetshire Regt (Service Bn.).

1914

The 6^th Bn. Dorsets was formed at Dorchester on 6 September 1914 as part of K2. Moved to Wareham and initially attached as Army Troops to 17th (Northern) Division.

1915

March 1915: transferred to 50th Brigade in same Division. Moved to Romsey in May 1915.
14^th Jul. Landed at Boulogne.

1916

The 17^th Division was involved in fighting at the Bluff (south-east of Ypres on the Comines canal), part of a number of engagements officially known as the Actions of Spring 1916.

6th Feb. The 6^th Bn. marched to St Omer.
7th Feb. Entrained and arrived at Godewaersvelde following breakfast marched to camp on Reninghelst -Westoutre Rd.at map ref. sheet 28 M.3.d. J Camp.
15^{th Feb.}Received orders for Bn. to move up to Dickiebusch arrived at 5 am.
16^th Feb. The Bn. attacks The Bluff, (Zillebeke area, Ypres Salient).

The Plan was ‘A’ company to attack Bluff and Crater Trench. The following report from Lt Col. CD Rowley DSO.
- ‘A’ Coy moved straight on up to? trench file led by a guide of the 1^st Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers who was to show them where to deploy.
- ‘A’ deployed in front of work R.11 450 yds W of the Bluff, under heavy shell fire and suffered many casualties. ‘C’ Coy deployed on the right of ‘A’ Coy right on the Canal.
- At this point, Major Hughes ?? was wounded and Capt. Blencowe placed in command of the two Coys.
- The Coy’s moved forward very slowly feeling their way, the ground was very difficult mud and water, large shell craters… (diary unreadable but pertaining to bad conditions for going forward it seems the last word is obstructed).
- I was given to understand that there was no trench on the Bluff and that should I capture the Bluff, I could bomb down and fire into crater Trench and render it untenable, and so help the 7 Bn. Yorks who were bombing along towards the Crater Trench from the (map ref?) 6 V
- The Coy bombers under Lt Broad were to support the frontal attack of ‘A’ and ‘C’ Coys by trying to get into the flanks.
- ‘A’ Coy discovered the new trench across the bluff unexpectedly and were met by Machine gun fire, rapid-fire and bombs. They tried to ? in the trenches but were held up by wire. One party, however, got into the trench on the left and which they held until its supply of bombs ran out. The Coy suffered at this time with trench Mortar fire from over the Bluff.
- ‘C’ Coy in the meantime advanced on the right, but getting shelled by own guns. The OC ‘C’ coy thought they had gone too far. A message came through from ‘A’ Coy that they had struck a German trench at the top of the Bluff. ‘C” Coy changed direction left and came up behind ‘A” coy when they cam under a monstrous fire and retired down the slope.
- All the Officers of ‘A’ Coy had by this time been killed or wounded. At 04:00 hrs I ordered a retirement as the men were dead beat and they had no sleep for 2 nights and had been going since 17:45 hrs of the evening before. I received orders to retire from the trenches at 5 am and my battalion was back at Dickebusch by 21:00 hrs.
- Casualties were
  - 2 Officers (including Ernest Blencowe) killed, 7 wounded and 131 OR’s killed wounded or missing.
- Jun. Mentioned in Despatches by General Haig, London Gazette 16^th June 1916.

Sources

6^th Dorset’s War Diary and Appendices.

Medals

Awarded the Victory, 1914-15 Star, and British medals posthumously would have also been entitled to the Oak Leaf for the victory medal for his Mention in Despatches.

Ernest is remembered with honour on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

Budleigh Salterton War Memorial

St Peter’s Church, Budleigh Salterton.

st_peters_church_memorial — A memorial at St Peters Church Budleigh commemorates Ernest.

In his Will, it says he was from Saskatchewan, Canada with a London address in Bayswater. So it looks as though Ernest and Ellen went to Canada and he came home to join up.

A daughter was born in Budleigh Salterton by which time Ellen’s father Revd Edwards was living at 5 Links Road as well. He sadly died there on the 13 June 1916 just four months after Ernest. With a three-year-old to look after Ellen Mary Blanche Blencowe would have had a difficult time. She died, aged 83, in 1958.