Ernest Goldsmith, 3rd July 1916, aged 28.
Private G/9369, 6th Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment).

He was born in Sandhurst on 9th November 1887 and came to our parish as a teenager when his family moved to Prior’s Heath. He worked first as a farm labourer, and later alongside his father on the roads for the District Council. He joined the army in February 1916 and, after a remarkably short training period, went to France on 8th June, at a time when the British were busily gearing up for the Somme offensive. On 3rd July, the third day of the Battle of the Somme, the 6th Buffs sent half its men over the top at Ovillers at 3.30am; due to a communications breakdown, they were inadequately supported and suffered massive casualties. The other half were prudently held back. Ernest Goldsmith’s name is carved on the nearby Thiepval memorial to the missing.

Ernest Goldsmith was also a member of the Goudhurst Oddfellows Lodge: Members Application form