THOMPSON, Ernest Howard

Ernest Thompson was born in Amblecote and enlisted in Stourbridge. He joined the Dorset Regiment and was later transferred to the Somerset Light Infantry. He was then posted to the 7th Battalion in the 20th (Light) Division. In the first 1918 German Spring offensive the division faced the overwhelming force of the enemy's attack. The Somersets fought in the battles of the Somme Crossings and Rosičres but were forced to retreat across the old Somme battlefield. The Division went to a quieter sector, possibly in Artois, but there was constant conflict. Private Ernest Thompson was killed near Vimy Ridge on the 25th May and is buried at Sucrerie Cemetery, Ablain St. Nazaire (V B 12) and is commemorated on the Stourbridge and St. John's church Memorials.