Description
Distinguished Conduct Medal, GV, 1914 Star, with slider clasp, British War and Victory Medal, 10138 Private Ernest Charles Herridge, 1st Bn King’s Royal Rifle Corps.
DCM officially impressed: “10138 Pte E.C. Herridge. 1/K.R.R.C.”
1914 Star officially impressed: “10138 Pte E.C. Herridge. 1/K. R. Rif. C.”
BWM & Victory officially impressed: “10138 Cpl E.C. Herridge. K.R.R.C.”
Scarce combination with a 1914 Trio.
DCM announced in the London Gazette, 11th March 1916 with the following citation:
“For conspicuous gallantry on several occasions, notably on 1 occasion, when he kept up communication by day under heavy fire.”
The annotated DCM roll expands that the bravery occurred on the days of 15th to 17th May 1915 at Rue de Bois, part of the first 2 days of the Battle of Festubert (15th-25th May 1915).
The attack on these days is extremely well documented in the war diary for the 1st KRRC, I have attached a copy of the pages of the diary in the photographs for this action.
Casualties were very heavy, the regiment lost 4 Officers killed and 9 Wounded including Major G.C. Shakerley DSO.
From the Other Ranks, they lost 22 killed, 184 wounded and 88 missing, amounting to a heavy loss of 307 men.
The Communication Trench where Herridge was stationed on the day was subject to much artillery fire, as Major Armytage recalls in his report:
“It was very slow work getting along the trench as besides its garrison it was packed with wounded.
I got dressed by our stretcher bearers and then tried to make my way out by the communication trench: it was however for the moment impossible to do this as it was now daylight and the enemy were plastering the communications trench with high explosive shrapnel and whizz bangs they were also giving our front trench a very should shelling with every sort of gun.”
Ernest Charles Herridge was born circa 1892 in Farnham, Buckinghamshire.
He was the son of Reverend William Herridge (1871-1928)
Ernest was one of the first of the British Expeditionary Force to land in France arriving on 13th August 1914.
The War Office Daily List for 25th July 1918 recalls that he was Wounded in Action whilst a Corporal with the KRRC.
During the War, he managed to return home to marry Charlotte Rebecca Matthews on 26th October 1917 at St Pauls in Chatham.
He is later seen on the 1939 Census, working as a Waiter, and his wife a Waitress, living in Bournemouth, Hampshire.
He died during 1965.