Private Ernest Charles Mills
Rank or Title
Date of Birth
30 Apr 1897
Date of Death
1971
War time / or Pre War occupation
Regiment
Service Number
Place of Birth
World War I Address
Place of Death
Grave Location
Luton ward
Soldier or Civilian
- Soldier
Source
Ernest Charles Mills joined the Bedfordshire Regiment, in 1915 and transferred to the Machine Gun Corps (M.G.C.) in 1916. The M.G.C. was known as the suicide corps, but Ernest survived and was discharged in 1919.
He never spoke of his time in France except when he was dying and then said that only two members of his platoon who fought throughout the Somme, himself and another soldier he couldn't name, survived; and they were stood up to their waist in mud and barbed wire. The drawing in the linked photograph album is by Ernest, and shows cooking in a trench dugout.
Ernest was 5ft 7 inches tall, had 32 inch chest, and was the son of Charles Mills of 3 Blythe Place, Luton.
His Service Number on joining was 29800 for the Bedfordshire Regiment.
Individual Location
Author: David
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