Warden, EA
(1891 - 1917)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
8th December 1891
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1906 - 1908
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
138 Selhurst Road, West Norwood
REGIMENT
Engineers, Canadian Army Signals
FINAL RANK:
Corporal
DATE OF DEATH:
10th September 1917
AGE AT DEATH:
25
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Somme
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Bruay Communal Cemetery Extension. K 19
Corporal Ernest Alfred Warden
Born 8th December 1891, Ernest was the only son of Ernest William Warden and his wife Emily. Having left Dulwich in 1908, he spent three years as an apprentice at an electrical engineering firm in Birmingham before working for just over a year at the firm’s London office. After resigning from the firm he emigrated to Ontario, where he worked at various points as a draughtsman, a turbine attendant and a meter tester. During this time in Canada he won many races at the Toronto Motorcycle Club.
In May 1915 Ernest enlisted in the Canadian Field Artillery, and sailed for England in June. He underwent training in Kent and on the Salisbury Plain before crossing to France on September 14th. He served with the Ammunition Column of his brigade during the Battle of Loos. He fought at Thiepval during the First Battle of the Somme and in April 1917 took part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. On May 12th of the same year he was appointed Acting Corporal and became a motorcycle despatch rider in the Canadian Army Signals. On the night of September 15th 1917 he was hit by a motor-lorry whilst carrying a despatch. He died in hospital the next day, and is buried at the Bruay Communal Cemetery.
