Harry Ernest Macklin was born in the Frome area of Somerset in the autumn of 1893. The oldest of four children, his parents were Henry and Elizabeth Macklin. Henry Sr was a groom who travelled with work, and by the time of the 1901 census, the family were living in East Adderbury, Oxfordshire, which is where the third of the four siblings, Evelyn, was born.

Harry Jr seems to have been known as Ernest, probably to avoid confusion with his father. When he left school, he found work as a page. The family had moved again by 1902, to Witham Friary, to the south east of Frome. Harry Sr was now working as a farm labourer, while Minnie, his and Elizabeth’s second child, was employed as a house maid. The two younger children – Evelyn and George – were both at school, while Elizabeth’s widowed father, also called George, was visiting his daughter and their family.

Ernest changed jobs, becoming a gardener – possibly a euphemistic way of saying he had followed his father into agricultural labouring – but when war was declared he found the need to play his part. On 15th February 1915 he joined the Royal Navy as an Officer’s Steward 3rd Class, possibly drawing on his experience as a page.

For some reason, Ernest’s service records give his date of birth as 18th October 1894: they also confirm he was 5th 7.5ins (1.71m) tall, had dark brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. They also note that he had a scar on his left thigh.

Officer’s Steward 3rd Class Macklin’s first posting was HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, Hampshire. This is where he received his training and, on 10th August 1915, he was given his first posting, on board the Chilean-built HMS Canada.

The ship sailed to Scapa Flow, following the North Sea Coast. When it reached Newcastle-upon-Tyne, however, Ernest was disembarked, and admitted to the Armstrong College Hospital, suffering from an ear infection. Tragically his condition turned septic, and he died of blood poisoning on 23rd September 1915, having served just 43 days at sea. Officer’s Steward 3rd Class Macklin was just 22 years of age.

Harry Ernest Macklin’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Witham Friary. “He was a promising young fellow, liked by all who knew him, and he was a member of the Witham Church Choir from boyhood.” [Somerset Standard : Friday 1st October 1915]

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