| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
Ernest Edwin Williamson was born in Arram in 1889, the son of George Sissons Williamson, a farm labourer, and Jane, he was baptised in Leconfield Church on 18 Nov 1889. In 1911, aged 21, Ernest was working at Scorborough Decoy Farm as “third lad on farm”.
Ernest enlisted in the 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment on 9 Nov 1914. The 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment was part of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division and they played a major role in the many battles of Ypres and the Somme between 1915 and 1917. Ernest survived the conflict although he was seriously wounded. A report about the whereabouts of his older brother, George Thomas, published in the Beverley Guardian in May 1918, stated:- “(His youngest brother) Pte. E. Williamson received his discharge last year through loss of arm and an eye”.
Because of his injuries, Ernest was awarded a Silver War Badge and the British War and Victory medals and the 15 Star.
In 1916, Ernest married Elizabeth Sutcliffe in Darlington, and they had two sons, Ernest born in 1921 and James born in 1926. The 1939 Register shows the family living in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, and Ernest is listed as ‘totally disabled pensioner’. He was discharged on 22 Dec 1917, and had been granted a pension. Ernest died aged 52 in Dec 1940.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |