Private Ernest Reason from Stratford was taken prisoner but not a casualty of First World War

THE sacrifice made by those who served in both world wars will be revealed during two free tours of Stratford Cemetery next Saturday where visitors can also find out about Private Ernest Reason the man who didn’t die but whose name appears on the town’s war memorial as killed in action, 1915.

Ernest was born on 25th May 1889, the son of George and Elizabeth Reason, who lived in Mansell Street, Stratford but was later thought to have died on the frontline in France aged 26. However, Ernest wasn’t dead he was injured with a gunshot wound to the shoulder and captured and held prisoner of war in Limberg an der Lahn, Germany.

The confusion over Ernest’s reported death was eventually unravelled by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) who have no record of Private Reason dying during the First World War even though a letter from the front sent to his father announced his death on 30th July while serving with the 9th Battalion Kings Royal Rifles.