ENNIS, Samson

Samson Ennis was the son of Samson and Alice Ennis of 1 Court, 5 House, Stafford Street, Dudley. He volunteered for the Worcester Territorials and joined the 2/7th Battalion who went with the 59th (South Midland) Division to the Western Front in April 1915. They fought tenaciously through the long Battle of the Somme in 1916 and in the Spring of 1917 took part in the follow-up to the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. They were transferred in August to Flanders and were required to join the fierce Third Battle of Ypres. They took over trenches near St. Julien beside the river Steenbeek and were engaged in three actions in 10 days. The first on the 16th failed, the second on the 20th, with the help of seven tanks, succeeded but the last took place in continuous heavy rain on the night of the 26th August. There were many casualties and among those killed in action was Private Samson Ennis. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial and on the Dudley and St. James church Memorials. He was the last of the four Ennis brothers to die, as Albert, John and Samuel had all been killed before him.