Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ernest Leslie Ferres was a male born in approximatel;y December 1880 in Fremantle, Western Australia. His parents were Thomas Hemsley Ferres and Mary Hannah Ferres. The Ferres family lived on Parker Street, lower North Adelaide, South Australia. The Ferres family were active members of the Methodist denomination. Ernest attended the local public school in North Adelaide. After school Ernest worked his whole life at a local bottling company. At the bottling company he would fill up glass bottles with carbonated water and his average weekly earnings was 3 pounds. This shows that Ernest and his family didn’t have a good income from their jobs and probably worked hard to earn little money. However, Ernest was still sent to a local public school meaning he received a sound education however did not continue to a higher education resulting in him working in a factory as a bottler. This provided income but only an average wage. Ernest never married and was single his whole life.

At the age of 35 in 1916 Ernest decided to sign up as a volunteer for the First World War. Although the war had been going on for 2 years he still decided to sign up as a volunteer and on the 11th of July 1916, Ernest was considered fit for active service. This shows that Ernest didn’t volunteer for war straight away but gave it some thinking time. He chose to fight for his country in what he believed and also this could enable him to get a break from his job which was a hardworking job. However, since he chose to do it two years after the war started he might’ve wanted to know a few stories about what it was like to be on the front line before he started and then when he heard about it he wanted to be a part of it.

On his enlistment date Ernest was 35 years old and 7 months. This is very interesting as the average age was 24 and Ernest was 35. This could be because he had no family commitments whereas many people his age would have a family to support. His height was 5 feet and 3 inches and weighed 132 pounds. His chest measurement was 35 inches, he had brown eyes and dark hair. Ernest joined as a part of the 10th battalion which was made up of South Australian soldiers. Ernest was ranked as a private and stayed a private until his death. Ernest embarked for war on HMAT A16 Port Melbourne, from Melbourne, Victoria on the 21st of October 1916.

Once Ernest had embarked and on his way to war, he was aboard his ship for just over 2 months. Which is a long time considering now we can go from place to place in 24 hours roughly. Ernest disembarked from the HMAT A16 Port Melbourne in Devonport, England on the 28th of December 1916. When Ernest and his fellow soldiers disembarked they would’ve spent a couple of months in England as the next thing in his service record was that he proceeded overseas to France, which is where they began fighting. Since this was taken place at the end of April which was 4 months after they disembarked it is assumed they spent at least 2 months training in England.

As they proceeded overseas to France on the 19th of April 1917, Ernest and his fellow soldiers prepared for being in the front line. Ernest fought in the third battle of the Ypres. This battle was an allied offensive in the south and west parts of the Belgian medieval town called Ypres. For 6 months Ernest was living in trenches at the front line fighting for his country. For 6 months, Ernest lived in sweat and dirt, he cooked for himself although he didn’t eat a lot each day. His usual meals included canned beef, biscuits and rarely bread as there was limited supply of flour. His time on the battlefield was overwhelming and challenging with limited food variety and boredom. The weather was at times extreme and with limited shelter and protection, he was subjected to coldness at night and heat during the days, with the possibibility of dehydration.

After 6 months of gruelling intense battle in the third battle of Ypres, Ernest Leslie Ferres was declared killed in action on the 21st of September 2017 in Belgium/France. It was initially thought he was wounded in action, then was thought to be missing in action. A day later he was confirmed to be dead in action, possibly by artillery and machine guns which were the main weapons in the battle Ernest fought in. While fighting he earnt himself a British War Medal and a Victory Medal. Although Ernest’s body was not discovered meaning he does not have a grave he has his name in many memorials, his name is in the memorial where the battle took place and also has a memorial in Australia.

Bibliography:

UNSW Australia 2016, The AIF Project, Canberra, viewed 3 April 2020, <https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=96515>.

Australian War Memorial n.d., Ernest Leslie Ferres, Australia, viewed 3 April 2020, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1731682>.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission 2020, Ernest Leslie Ferres, Australia, viewed 3 April 2020, <https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/923468/ferres,-ernest-leslie/>.

National Archives of Australia 2020, Ernest Leslie Ferres, Australia, viewed 3 April 2020, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3554132>. 

Virtual War Memorial n.d., Third Ypres, Australia, viewed 3 April 2020, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/campaigns/8>.

Virtual War Memorial n.d., 10th Infantry Battalion, Australia, viewed 3 April 2020, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/1>.

Birtwistle Wiki 2018, HMAT A16 Port Melbourne, Australia, viewed 3 April 2020, <https://www.birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/HMAT_A16_Port_Melbourne>.