ENNIS, Samuel

Samuel Ennis was the son of Samson and Alice Ennis of 1 Court, 5 House, Stafford Street, Dudley. He volunteered for the South Staffords and joined the 7th (Service) battalion. After training they were sent to Gallipoli to break the stalemate on the peninsula. They reached Cape Helles in July and prepared for the new landings at Suvla Bay. The Staffords were the first to land on the 6th August and surprise was effective in achieving a safe landing. However, the attempt to reach the Gallipoli ridge three days later led to serious defeat. The Turks were in well prepared defences and the Staffords were affected by the hot climate and illness. Over four hundred men were casualties and retreat to the beaches followed. On the 21st another attack was mounted and completely wrecked by Turkish shelling. Stalemate and trench warfare ensued among the gullies and ravines of the narrow peninsula and on the 18th October Private Samuel Ennis was killed in action. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial and on the Dudley and St. James church Memorials. He was the first of four Ennis brothers to die and was followed by Albert, John and Samson.