Ernest 'Ernie' Seaman was born on Wednesday 16th. August 1893 at 9 Derby Street, North Heigham, Norwich, the youngest of seven sons to Henry and Sarah Elizabeth Seaman (nee March), who also had two daughters. Ernest went to the local Church of England school and was still quite young when his father died. His mother later married Edward Palmer, landlord of the Kings Head Inn at Scole, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Edward Palmer also ran a taxi service and pony and trap service from Diss station. The family moved to Scole and Ernest attended Scole Council School, he was remembered by school friends as 'quiet and reserved, but kind and gentlemanly'. He was a plumpish, short boy who soon acquired the nickname, ‘Peddler’ after his step father.
Ernest left school at 14 and tried a variety of jobs including as a steward on P & O liners plying between Britain and India and as a 'billiard-marker' at the exotically styled Cocoa Tree Club in St. James' Street, Piccadilly before moving to Trimley in Suffolk where he lived with an aunt while working as a pageboy at the Grand Hotel in Felixstowe. He worked there for three years before emigrating to Canada in 1912. He returned to England in 1915 and tried to enlist in the Army, but was initially turned down as medically unfit, however, on 26th. December 1915 he finally enlisted at Le Havre, France as A/367702 in the Army Service Corps (ASC) Canteens, where he was employed as a baker.
By 1917, because of heavy British casualties, more men were needed to fight, and after re-examination Ernest was transferred into the infantry. He joined the 2nd. Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and on 3rd. February 1918. The battalion was attached to the 109th. Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division. Army records show that had he survived the war he would have been transferred back to the bakery.
Ernest saw considerable action with the 2nd. Battalion around Ypres and Passchendaele, being promoted to Lance Corporal in early September just fourteen days before he was killed. Ernest and his colleagues of ‘A’ Company were involved in fierce fighting near the tiny village of Terhand, north of the Menin Road, in the Ypres salient.
On 29th. September 1918, when the right flank of his company was held up by a nest of German machine-guns, Lance-Corporal Seaman with great courage and initiative, rushed forward under heavy fire with his Lewis gun and engaged the machine gun position single-handed, capturing two machine-guns and 12 prisoners, and killing one officer and two men. Later in the day he again rushed another enemy machine-gun post, capturing the gun under very heavy fire. He was killed immediately afterwards.
Captain V.E.S. Mattocks, Officer Commanding 'A' Company wrote: "He was one of the best soldiers whom I had ever met, an excellent soldier in every sense of the word, and very keen to do his duties. He always volunteered to help in any extra work that had to be done, no matter how dangerous or difficult, and for his constant devotion to duty and gallantry in voluntarily attending his wounded colleagues under heavy fire, I recommended him being awarded the Military Medal".
Ernest’s body was not recovered after the action and he has no known grave but is commemorated on Panel 70-72 at the Tyne Cot Memorial to the missing located at Passchendale, near Zonnebeke in Belgium, the memorial to the 36th. Division at the Ulster Tower near Thiepval on the Somme in France, Felixstowe War Memorial in Suffolk, and the Scole War Memorial in Norfolk.
Instead of a MM, Ernest was awarded a posthumous VC.
The citation for his VC read:
For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. When the right flank of his company was held up by a nest of enemy machine guns, he, with great courage and initiative, rushed forward under heavy fire with his Lewis gun and engaged the position single-handed, capturing two machine guns and twelve prisoners and killing one officer and two men. Later in the day he again rushed another enemy machine-gun position, capturing the gun under heavy fire. He was killed immediately after. His courage and dash were beyond all praise, and it was entirely due to the very gallant conduct of Lce. Cpl. Seaman that his company was enabled to push forward to its objective and capture many prisoners.
The London Gazette, 12th. November 1918.
On 13th. February 1919 at Buckingham Palace, King George V presented the Victoria Cross to Ernest’s mother Sarah. In the early 1940’s the medal was donated to the trustees of the Royal Army Service Corps, by Colonel W. Wordie OBE T.D. Honorary Colonel 52nd. (Lowland) Divisional R.A.S.C., after it was purchased privately at a public auction. A replica medal is on display in the RCT Medal collection in the Officers Mess of the Royal Logistic Corps at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey. Viewing of this medal is by special appointment only, while the original remains locked away in a bank vault and is not available for viewing.
This memorial was unveiled on 29th. September 2018 at Norwich's War Memorial, a century on from Earnest's death.
Medals awarded:
Victoria Cross
1914 - 1915 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal 1914 - 1919
