{"id":1258,"date":"2025-11-27T12:54:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timm.uk\/?page_id=1258"},"modified":"2025-11-27T13:16:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T13:16:37","slug":"adolphus-otto-ernest-augustus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/timm.uk\/?page_id=1258","title":{"rendered":"ADOLPHUS, Otto Ernest Augustus"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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9438 Private Otto Ernest Augustus Adolphus<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Victory Medal<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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(also entitled to British War Medal)<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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FAMILY<\/strong><\/p>

Otto was born in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, in around June 1897. He was referred to as Ernest by his family, so he shall be referred to as that for the remainder of this text.<\/strong><\/span> He was the only son of Horace, a Church of England clergyman, and Florence (also known by here own middle name as Mabel). There is a history of work in the clergy, as Horace\u2019s father (also called Otto) studied at Corpus Cristi College, Cambridge, for a BA and was subsequently employed as a vicar. Apart from O. Ernest, Horace and F. Mabel also had two daughters: Sigismunda and Florence.<\/p>

Despite their somewhat exotic-sounding names, the family history appears (from a look back through both Horace and Mabel\u2019s families) to have been born in England for a generation or two.<\/p>

By 1911 Ernest had been sent to study as a boarder at the rather clumsily-named St John’s Foundation School For The Sons of Poor Clergy of The Church of England on Epsom Road in Leatherhead, Surrey. Whilst there he was member of the school Officer Training Corps.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Derby Scheme<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

Ernest volunteered in November 1915 for the Royal Fusiliers, and was assigned to the 28th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.<\/p>

Based on the date, he would have probably been pressured to enlist as part of the \u201cDerby Scheme.\u201d Whilst he may well have wanted to join the army, many did not. The scheme, initiated by Herbert Kitchener’s new Director General of Recruiting, Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, aimed to use strong-arm tactics to try to pressure men regarded as eligible to serve in the military to voluntarily enlist.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Derby Scheme Poster - November 1915<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Every eligible man, aged 18 to 41, who was not in an essential occupation was required to make a public declaration of whether he would enlist immediately or defer his service to a later date, to appear when called. Men were sent to canvass all those eligible at their home address, and every man had to say whether or not he would attest to join the forces. Tactics varied from making the target guilty and embarrassed, to just outright threats.<\/p>

Ultimately, the Derby Scheme would succeed in recruiting around two-thirds of single men, and half of those who were married to \u201cjoin up.\u201d In November and December alone, 318,553 medically fit men joined the colours. Not satisfied with this, the British government would go on to pass the Military Service Act 1916, which authorized conscription, on 27th January 1916, to secure the remaining eligible men for war service.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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France<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

Ernest finally arrived in France in August 1916, and was subsequently transferred to the 1\/4th<\/sup> Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, sent to them as a replacement for the huge casualties they had suffered the month before at Gommecourt. The Gommecourt attack had resulted in a fifty percent casualty rate, with some companies losing all their officers almost immediately the attack had started. German artillery had utterly obliterated the battalion\u2019s effectiveness and they were forced to withdraw with whoever was left.<\/p>

Ernest joined the battalion, with a great many other replacements on 21st<\/sup> August.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Battle of Ginchy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

The reinforced 1\/4th Royal Fusiliers returned to the front on 5th September 1916. An assault was planned to take the German-held village of Ginchy. The Battalion were held in reserve along the Wedge Wood\u2013Ginchy road, where they suffered casualties from shellfire while digging new assembly trenches.<\/p>

On the 9th <\/sup>September, Ernest and the 1\/4th Battalion had a tense wait. They would be leading an attack on the German lines. The crowded trenches were heavily shelled, but the order to go over the top was given regardless, so at 1645 hours, the 1\/4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers left the trench and proceeded towards a waiting enemy. They pivoted and moved up behind a new-style creeping artillery barrage, but not finding their objective trench, they overshot into the, now stationary, barrage, forcing the men to take whatever cover they could find in the confusion. When the barrage resumed advancing at 1725 hours, the mixed up companies of the battalion captured their second objective, known as \u201cBeef Trench.\u201d<\/p>

After dark the objective was only held by advanced parties while the rest of the battalion cleared an intermediate position \u201cBully Trench\u201d in their rear. These advanced posts were withdrawn the following morning while the flanks were strengthened. The battalion was relieved from Bully Trench at midnight on 10\/11th<\/sup> September.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The total casualties over the five days were 20 officers and about 250 other ranks. One of the casualties on the day of the main attack was Ernest. He was probably killed by artillery fire, perhaps even by a British shell.<\/p>

Otto Ernest Augustus Adolphus\u2019 body was recovered and identified, and he is buried, with honour, at Euston Road Cemetery, Colincamps, France, along with 1,292 other men of the British and Commonwealth forces of the Great War. 1916<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Euston Road Cemetery<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Ernest is also commemorated on Horace and Mabel\u2019s grave memorial. A panel on the stone plinth reads \u201cAlso of – O. Ernest Augustus \u2013 Beloved and only son of Horace A. and F. Mabel Adolphus \u2013 who was killed in France in the Great War 1916 aged 19 years.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Ernest\u2019s British War Medal may well have been scrapped for it\u2019s silver content at some point. There have been many \u201csilver boom\u201d periods in the uk, most notably in the 1970s and 1990s, where a huge hike in the price of silver resulted in many medals being lost forever when they were melted down for thier scrap value. There is a small chance, though, that it was simply seperated from the Victory Medal.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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