Ernest's Story.
Sixteen-year-old Private Ernest Vipond 5854 of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers died of wounds on 14th February 1900 at Hussar Hill, Ladysmith, South Africa. He was buried at Chieveley Cemetery.
What do we know about Ernest?
Ernest Vipond was the sixth child of Thomas and Alice nee Winrow, and brother to Thomas Henry, William, Frank, Charles, Alice, Victoria and Lily. He was born in December 1883 in Poulton, Wallasey, Cheshire, where his father was the publican of a beerhouse on Lime Kiln Lane. He was baptised at St Hilary's Church, Wallasey on 19th December.
His mother Alice died in 1896 when he was twelve, and two years later, on 13th October 1898, aged only fourteen, Ernest enlisted into the army at Chester. His apparent age was stated to be 18, and his army records describe him as being 5 foot five inches tall, with blue eyes, sandy hair and a fresh complexion. He gave as his next of kin his "mother" - Mrs William Vipond, who was actually his sister-in-law.
Ernest died of wounds sustained in the Battle of Tugela (or Thukela) Heights, also known as the Battle of Pieters Hill, Battle of the Pieters, or the Battle of the Tugela River. It consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14th February through to 27th February 1900 in which General Sir Redvers Buller's British army forced Louis Botha's Boer army to lift the Siege of Ladysmith during the Second Boer War. The siege of Ladysmith had been in place for over a hundred days by then, and the inhabitants were starving and dying of disease. Ernest died on the first day of the battle ....
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He is remembered on the Boer War Memorial in Birkenhead.
His name also appears on the war memorial in Wallasey, which was erected in 1904 to honour the 120 men from Wallasey who served in South Africa. The names of the ten fallen men were inscribed on it. In this newspaper account, Ernest is listed as one of the three soldiers who were killed in action. The other seven casualties died from disease, probably typhoid.
Researched by S. Lewington (May 2025)
His mother Alice died in 1896 when he was twelve, and two years later, on 13th October 1898, aged only fourteen, Ernest enlisted into the army at Chester. His apparent age was stated to be 18, and his army records describe him as being 5 foot five inches tall, with blue eyes, sandy hair and a fresh complexion. He gave as his next of kin his "mother" - Mrs William Vipond, who was actually his sister-in-law.
Ernest died of wounds sustained in the Battle of Tugela (or Thukela) Heights, also known as the Battle of Pieters Hill, Battle of the Pieters, or the Battle of the Tugela River. It consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14th February through to 27th February 1900 in which General Sir Redvers Buller's British army forced Louis Botha's Boer army to lift the Siege of Ladysmith during the Second Boer War. The siege of Ladysmith had been in place for over a hundred days by then, and the inhabitants were starving and dying of disease. Ernest died on the first day of the battle ....
He is remembered on the Boer War Memorial in Birkenhead.
His name also appears on the war memorial in Wallasey, which was erected in 1904 to honour the 120 men from Wallasey who served in South Africa. The names of the ten fallen men were inscribed on it. In this newspaper account, Ernest is listed as one of the three soldiers who were killed in action. The other seven casualties died from disease, probably typhoid.
Researched by S. Lewington (May 2025)