Ernest John Harrington

Rank:

Private

Regimental number:

11361

Unit at enlistment:

4th Battalion

Force:

C.E.F.

Volunteered or conscripted:

Volunteered

Survived the war:

Yes

Wounded:

Yes

Cemetery:

Mount Hope Cemetery, Soldiers' Plot, Brantford, Ontario

Commemorated at:

Brantford Congregational Church

Birth country:

England

Birth county:

Surrey

Birth city:

Farnham

Address at enlistment:

136 Alice Street, Brantford, Ontario

Next of kin address:

Farringdon P.O., Brantford, Ontario

Trade or calling:

Labourer

Religious denominations:

Church of England

Marital status:

Single

Age at enlistment:

Image gallery:

Letters and documents

BX April 28, 1915

Expected Casualties

Two days ago his brother George Harrington received a letter from him, written on April 8, in which he stated that he did not expect the luck of the Dufferin Rifles section to last much longer, as up to that time there had been no casualties, among the Brantford men. He was in Lieut. F.W. Miller’s platoon of Capt. Colquhoun’s company of the 4th Battalion, First Brigade. The letter in part reads:

April 8, 1915

Dear brother,

This leaves me in the best of health at present. We are now out here in France, and we have been here over two months. We get shifted all over the place. We have been in the trenches for so long a time, close to where that big fight came off lately, and our company has come off very lucky. We have not lost one, but I think the next time we go to the trenches, we may not come off so good. Something seems to tell me so, but I hope it will be the same as we had before. We have now been relieved from our trenches and we are out having a rest, but we may be in action before you get this letter. We do not know what is coming off. You ought to be out here to see the ruins. It would open your eyes to see all or a lot of the big towns blown to atoms. Still, it is not all by their shell fire. It is partially done by ours, too, to get them out of it. It is now time for parade, so I will close.

Your loving brother,
Ernest

BX May 14, 1915

Further Word Received from Local Boys Who Were Wounded Recently – Feared That Pte. Harrington May be Permanently Disabled

Sad news was contained in a letter received this morning by Mrs. G. Harrington, Mother of Pte. Ernest John Harrington, who is confined in a French hospital nursing wounds he received in the battle of Langemarck. The letter says that while the young man will probably recover, it is feared that his spine is so badly injured that he may be a cripple for life. The letter, which was brief, was written by a nurse. It follows:

May 3, 1915

No. 13 General Hospital,
Boulogne, France

To Mrs. G. Harrington,
Farringdon Church

From Nurse ----

Your son Ernest was brought here with a very bad wound in the back and buttock in the small of the back. He is seriously ill, but the doctor hopes to pull him around. The nurse says he bears up well, and very plucky. The bullet has hurt the spine and it will no doubt be ruined for life. He is resting and very comfortable.

Yours in sympathy,
Nurse ----

BX July 5, 1915

Is Sorely Wounded – Private E. Harrington is in the Hospital With Severe Injuries.

Pte. Ernest John Harrington of this city is now in the Seaman’s Hospital, London, Eng., suffering in agony from wounds received in the back from the bursting of a shell. The letter telling of this, received by his brother, George is as follows:

Pte. E. Harrington, No. 11361
4th Battalion Canadian Contingent
Seaman’s or Dreadnought Hospital

My Dear Brother George,

I now take great pleasure to write these few lines to you hoping this will find you all in the very best of health. I am not very well at present. I am sorry, as I could not answer your letter before as I have been taken very ill and was ordered back to bed again, so I did not feel fit to write. I hope it won’t be long before I see you all again. I have been under two operations in two weeks and the doctors are not finished with me. Yesterday they went as far as to take three pieces of bone out of my back. I am in bed now in agony. I have got two long rubber tubes in the wounds in my back and I shall be glad when they are taken out, as I lie here in bed and ache all over. Well brother, I am very glad that mother has got over the shock of my being wounded and I hope she is going along all right again. I see brother Fred has joined the 36th Battalion. I wonder if they will leave Brantford.

Now, George, I must close these few lines. I would write more only I am truly in agony writing now, so good-bye for the present. Your true and loving brother,

Ern.
P.S. – My spine has been filed down

BX November 29, 1915

Comforts Would Be Appreciated – Private E. Harrington, Shorncliffe Hospital Wants to Be Remembered

G.H. Harrington, R.R. No. 1 Dunboyne has received an interesting letter from his brother, Ernest John Harrington, now in the military hospital, Shorncliffe, England. He left with the First Contingent under Captain M.A. Colquhoun, and was wounded in April at Ypres. Mr. G.H. Harrington, in forwarding this letter to The Expositor, suggested that his brother would appreciate any kindness from the Women’s Patriotic League of this City as since April, he has received not a comfort from Brantford save from his relatives. His address is Pte. E. Harington, No 11361, Fourth Battalion, C. Company, Shorncliffe, England. The letter reads as follows:

Dear Brother George,

Just a few lines to you in answer to your welcome letter, hoping this will find you all in the very best of health as it leaves me about the same at present. I cannot tell you when I shall be back home again as the wounds are not much better since the day I was struck by the shell quite a few months ago. It has not affected my back very much. The doctor said it was funny it did not go to my legs. They can’t send me away from the hospital as the wounds are all the time discharging and they go through my back. He told me the other day it would take months and perhaps years to heal up. He said he could not operate on me again. If they did in one place it would never heal up, and in another it would mean death, so it has to go and take its own course. There is some fractured bone in my back yet they could not get out. I am trying to get out to go to a convalescent home but I don’t know when it will be. Brother Fred is still here. I was transferred from Woolwich Hospital to Shorncliffe the very day he went out. So I was able to see him before he left to join his regiment, we certainly were glad to see each other once again. Who knows, maybe for the last time, but he told me he was going to avenge his brother, and we said good-bye.

Your ever loving brother,
Ernest

BX January 28, 1916

Son’s Injuries Are Permanent – Pte. E. Harrington’s Wounds Will be Avenged by Three Brothers

Mrs. J. Harrington, Farringdon Church, has received a letter from her son, Pte. Ernest Harrington, of the 4th Battalion, who is now in Shorncliffe Hospital, suffering from a serious wound received at Langemarck. He wishes through The Expositor, to thank the ladies and gentlemen of Brantford for the kind gifts and cigarettes he has received from this city. Although from April 22 last until November he was not visited by anyone, he states that Mrs. (Col.) Ashton visits him now nearly every day, bringing him dainties. Mrs. Harrington states that her son is injured for life, having undergone seven operations, and his condition is still serious. She also states that she has three more sons eager to take revenge for the awful wounds of their brother. They are, Fred of the 36th Battalion, Lem in the 86th Machine Gun Battalion at Hamilton, and Chris in the 125th Battalion.

Mrs. Harrington is justly proud of having four sons fighting for their country, and hopes they will someday have an opportunity to avenge with cold steel their brother’s injuries. She joins with her son in sending thanks for the very kind and generous way the people of this city have attended to his wants, and feels sure they will be amply rewarded for their kindness some day.

BX January 3, 1916

Being Looked After

Mr. G.H. Harrington, whose brother is in an English hospital suffering from wounds, is delighted to hear that his brother is now being looked after. Mrs. E.C. Ashton, who investigated the case at the request of Miss Lillian Wisner, was glad to be able to report that she and other wives of Canadian officers had visited the hospital quite frequently. They found that there were some 50 Canadians in this hospital, and none of them had been visited by or received gifts from Canadians. They are now being adequately looked after.

BX April 28, 1915

Another Brantford Soldier Reported Seriously Wounded – Pte. Ernest Harrington Receives Shot in Back – Mother Received Official Word From the Adjutant General This Morning – Victim of German Bullet – Had Spent 13 years in the British Navy – A Proud Record.

Pte. Ernest John Harrington, formerly residing at 136 Alice Street, is the latest Brantfordite to be reported dangerously wounded in the recent fighting in Northern France. At the present time he is in General Hospital No. 13, Boulogne, suffering from a gunshot wound in the back. The news was officially received this morning in the following telegram from the adjutant-general at Ottawa to his mother, Mrs. J. Harrington of Farringdon Church:

Mrs. J. Harrington,
Farringdon Church,
Mount Pleasant

Sincerely regret to inform you 11361, Private Ernest J. Harrington, No. 4 Battalion officially reported dangerously ill, No. 13 General Hospital, Boulogne. Gunshot wound back. Further particulars will be sent you when received.

Adjutant-General

Many Years in Navy

Pte. Ernest J. Harrington formerly resided at136 Alice Street, here, and was a resident there when the first contingent left Brantford. His people afterwards removed to Farringdon Church, where they now reside.

For 12 years and 9 months Pte. Harrington was a member of the British navy, having joined in December 1899, as an able boy. He served on the following ships: Ganges, Agincourt, Prince George, Duke of Wellington, Victory, First Queen, Excellent, Formidable (sunk in the North Sea during the war), Lightning, Blenheim, Argonaut, Furious, Aboukir (sunk by a submarine), Good Hope (sunk in the naval battle off the Chilean coast), Egmont, Bulwark (blown up by accident off Sheerness during the war), and Vindictive. He was given his honorary discharge on October 14, 1913, his time having expired.

Simply Had to Go

When the war broke out he took immediate steps to get into the fighting. Lieut.-Col. Ashton wrote for him to the British admiralty, offering his services, and he was advised to hold himself in readiness. He waited until two days before the first contingent from the Dufferin Rifles left this city, and not wanting to be left behind, but anxious to get to the firing line, he joined the local contingent as a private. He went with them to Valcartier, and while there received word to report immediately to the admiralty. This was too late however as he could not affect his transfer from the first contingent, and with them he trained, and later went to Salisbury and the front.

Two Brothers Serving

Pte. Harrington is 33 years old, and a single man. His father and mother and two brothers, Bert and Christopher, reside at Farringdon. A brother Fred is with the 36th Battalion, third contingent, under Lieut.-Col. Ashton at Hamilton. Another brother, Leonard is serving with the 77th Regiment guarding the Welland Canal. A fifth is George residing at 350 Grey Street, and employed at Hawthorne’s and a sixth, Edward, resides on Sheridan Street. Mrs. Groft of Jordan is a sister.

Expected Casualties

Two days ago his brother, George Harrington, received a letter from him, written on April 8, in which he stated that he did not expect the luck of the Dufferin Rifles section to last much longer, as up to that time there had been no casualties among the Brantford men. He was in Lieut. F.W. Miller’s platoon of Capt. Colquhoun’s company of the 4th Battalion, First Brigade.

The letter in part reads:

Dear Brother,

This leaves me in the best of health at present. We are now out here in France, and we have been here over two months. We get shifted all over the place. We have been in the trenches for so long a time. Close to where that big fight came off lately, and our company has come off very lucky. We have not lost one, but I think the next time we do go to the trenches, we may not come off so good. Something seems to tell me so, but I hope it will be the same as we had before. We have now been relieved from our trenches and we are out having a rest, but we may be in action before you get this letter. We do not know what is coming off. You ought to be out here to see the ruins. It would open your eyes to see all or a lot of the big towns blown to atoms. Still, it is not all by their shell fire. It is partially done by ours, too, to get them out of it. It is now time for parade so I will close

Your loving brother,

Ernest

BX October 19, 1916

Invalided Men Are Coming Home

Privates E. Harrington, W. Clawsey, Fred Jefferis, and E. Wreaks Returning

Four Brantford soldiers who have been invalided home from the front are at the present time in Toronto on their way home. The men are: Pte. Ernest Harrington, 116 Walnut; William Clawsey, 23 Drummond; Fred Jefferis, 43 High and Edward Wreaks, 226 Park Avenue. The returned men are at present in the care of the Military hospital commission but are expected to leave for Brantford some day this week.

Pte. Harrington, went overseas with the First Contingent. He is an old Royal Navy man serving twelve years. He was wounded in April, 1915. Unmarried, 33 years of age and a laborer is what The Expositor records say about him.

Pte. Clawsey, 23 Drummond Street went overseas with a draft from the 25th Brant Dragoons in the 2nd Contingent, and was attached to a Canadian Mounted Rifle regiment. He was wounded on June 12 last.

The address of Pte. Fred Jefferis is given as 43 High Street, but was 30 High when he enlisted. He is a laborer by trade and a single man. For two years he was connected with the 38th D.R.C. and went across with the 1st Contingent.

No particulars as to who Edward Wreaks is, is to be found in the Expositor records.

BX October 21, 1916

Three Heroes Came Home

Unheralded, three more Brantford heroes slipped quietly into the city yesterday morning. As Pte. William Clawsey, one of them, this morning expressed it; they came in just as they wanted to, without any fuss being made. They arrived here on the G.T.R. and only their immediate relatives were aware of the fact that they were coming home so soon, although it was known locally that they had reached Toronto. Accompanying Private Clawsey were Privates Ed Wreaks and Ernest Harrington.

Pte. Clawsey this morning, as is customary with the returned soldiers, was very reticent as to happenings on the field of battle. It is just two years ago that he left Brantford with the 4th C.M.R., and since that time he spent nine consecutive months in the trenches, escaping without injury until the memorable battle of Ypres on June 1 of this year, when he suffered the injuries which were responsible for his return home.

On that eventful day a shell exploded near him, although he escaped being hit he was severely shocked, and although he continued for five days longer at the end of that time one of his knees gave out and he had to leave the scene of action for a hospital. The knee swelled so badly that the trousers had to be cut off his leg, and it was later discovered that the pallet of the knee had dropped. Since that time he has been in hospitals and convalescent home practically all the time where the treatment received resulted in almost a complete recovery of the injured limb.

The 4th C.M.R., stated Pte. Clawsey, were nearly all gone now, those who had not been killed were now prisoners of war, having been captured by the Germans at the battle of Ypres on June 2, along with their C.O., Lieut.-Col. Usher.

Pte. Clawsey is a cousin of Richard Clawsey who was killed in action last April. He resides with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Clawsey on Drummond Street. “The trip from England was made in four days and no submarines were sighted,” he stated this morning, adding that he was glad to be back in Brantford again.

BX January 21, 1955

Ernest Harrington

The death of Ernest Harrington, 5 Balfour Street, occurred Thursday in Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, in his 74th years. He was born at Hale, Farnham, Surrey, England and served 13 years in the Royal Navy before coming to Brantford 42 years ago. He was a veteran of the First World War and served overseas with the “Mad Fourth” Battalion. He is survived by two brothers, Bert and Christopher, and one sister, Mrs. Charles (Esther) Groff, all of Brantford. Mr. Harrington is resting at the Hill and Robinson Funeral Home until Monday for service in the chapel at 3.30 p.m. Interment will be in the Soldiers’ Plot, Mount Hope Cemetery.

BX January 25, 1955

The funeral of Ernest Harrington was conducted Monday afternoon at the Hill and Robinson chapel. Rev. G. Dean Johnston of Central Presbyterian Church officiating. The many in attendance, among them a representation from the Board of Works and the many floral tributes testified to the high esteem in which Mr. Harrington was held. The flower-bearers all members of the Canadian Legion were E.R. Edwards, R. Varey, J.H. Longbottom, J. Turner, W. Stuart and T. Barr. The pallbearers, all veterans of the 4th Battalion were P. Whalen, E.W. Coxhead, T. Anderson, W. Williamson, A. Grand and P. Hawley. Interment was in the Soldiers’ Plot, Mount Hope Cemetery.