Ernest Samuel Candlin, Age 28
Lance Corporal, 10105, 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry.
K.S.L.I Regiment Cap Badge.
Ernest was born in Station road, Horsehay and had worked as a moulder at Day's pipe works before the war. He was the brother of Mr H Candlin who lived at 29 The Potteries, Horsehay, as far as I can ascertain he was living at 26 Font Street, Pembroke Dock at the time of his enlistment and had a young son Ernest Arthur.
Ernest was killed in action on September 25th 1916 during the battle of the Somme; in which the 1st KSLI had been part of the 2nd wave of an assault on the Morval Ridge and had reached their objective by 3pm in the afternoon.
News first reached Dawley about his death though a letter to the 'Dawley News' from a fellow soldier L'Cpl Frank Buttery, In the letter L'Cpl Buttery brought the bad news of the death of L'Cpl E.S Candlin writing from France on Oct 6th he said “We are out of the trenches now for a few days and we have earned it, for we went 'Over the top' twice in 8 days and I am glad to say the good old Shropshire's were successful on both occasions. We took over a mile of ground, two villages and a nice batch of prisoners. We had very few casualties but I am sorry to say that two from Dawley were killed; William Dunning from Chapel street on the 18th and Ernest Candlin from Horsehay on the 25th, I am very sorry these men have gone".
Official information was received from the war office the same morning that he was reported as 'Wounded'. L'Cpl Candlin was an old soldier of the KSLI and at the outbreak of war he went to Tipperary and then onto France, where he had seen a good deal of fighting. His age is given as 29? at the time, his brother was serving in Salonika.
Ernest's body was never found, and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Ref; Pier and Face 12A & 12D
WWI Medal Rolls Index Card
Commonwealth War Graves
Commemorated
Thiepval Memorial
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