No.3/9636, Private, Charles Edward AYRES
Aged 29
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Edward Charles Ayres was born in the Union Workhouse, Exning (Exning Road, Newmarket) on 6th November 1886 (Newmarket Q4-1886 3B:525), son of Kate AYRES, inmate in the Workhouse.
His sole legatee was Aunt Eppy who may be Hephzibah AYRES ( Kate had a sister Hephzibah) who, just to muddle things more was an AYRES married
to an AYRES. His cousin John Alfred AYRES was killed serving in France in 1917
see here Lode was officially separated from Bottisham as a parish in 1894, a fact not universally recognised. 1891 census...Aged 4, possibly the Charles Ayres, a pauper inmate, in the Poorhouse in Newmarket (albeit he is given as Exning born, the workhouse was on Exning Road, Newmarket). His mother (Bottisham born) seems to have been a servant (age 18) in 1881 with the COGGINS family in Church Street, Cambridge. Possibly she died in 1890 (Newmarket Q2 -1890 3B:302). 1901 census...Aged 15, Edward Charles, farm labourer, was boarding with Ebenezer and Rebekah LOCKWOOD at High Street, Burwell. 1911 census...Aged 24, Charles Edward, a labourer, he was boarding at 12 Clarence Street, Leicester, with William and Ellen PASSEY. No pension card has been found but this is probably due to him having no dependants. His cousin Alfred John AYRES was killed serving in France in France in 1917. see here |
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He enlisted in Woolwich. His medal card indicates the 1914 Star (Mons Star) but as the clasp to this was only instituted after the war and had to be claimed
and confirmed, so it is probable no one bothered or knew about it. The clasp indicated serving within range of the enemy guns.
The 2nd Suffolk moved into the area behind Serre in the middle of October. The weather prevented any large scale operations for some time, but eventually they were ordered into their assembly positions, across open the open such was the state of the trenches. At 05:00 on the 13th November they floundered forward into No Man's Land, a sea of mud, movement being almost impossible. The mist, added to the smoke from the barrage, made direction very difficult to maintain and within a short time all the officers in the leading companies had fallen, and little progress had been made. In spite of the conditions, some leading Suffolk companies did reach the German second line, but in vain as they were forced to return to their original front line, waiting there the rest of the day before marching back to Courcelles the next morning. CWGC records 82 killed, of which 37 have no known grave.
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