ADAMS Ernest Cornelius

Ernest Adams was brought up at 37 Hall Street, Oldswinford, by his parents, Joseph and Henzey Adams, together with his younger brother, Joseph.  He attended Oldswinford CE School and worked as a bread deliverer for Holdens of Cradley before the war.  When he volunteered, he was living at 60 Heath Lane, Stourbridge.  He served in the 1st Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment during the 1916 Battle of the Somme and at Arras in May 1917. In September the regiment moved to Flanders for the last stage of the Third Battle of Ypres.  They attacked at Polygon Wood on the 28th September and at Poelcappelle on 9th October.  In one of these battles Ernest was seriously wounded.  He was sent to the military hospital at Dozinghem where he died of wounds on the 11th October. He is also commemorated on his parents’ grave in St. Mary’s churchyard.  On the same day and in the same battle of Poelcapelle, Joseph, his younger brother, was also killed in action and they were buried less than five miles apart.