Ernest Augustus Mettam
Professional football player, Gainsborough Trinity Football Club.
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
Ernest Augustus Mettam was born in 1887 the son of Seth a Midland Railway engine driver and Elizabeth Mettam née Wallis of Lime Grove Stapleford Nottinghamshire.
Seth was born in 1861 in Whittington, Derbyshire, Elizabeth Caroline Wallis was born in 1865 in Stapleford, married in 1886 , their marriage was registered in the Shardlow Registration area. They went on to have 10 children , sadly one died in infancy prior to 1911, their surviving children were all born in Stapleford and were : Ernest b1887 , Rose b 1889, Irene b1891, Wallis b1893, Frank b1895, George b1897, Alice b1901, Seth b1903 and Beatrice b1906.
In 1911 the family are living at Lime Grove Stapleford and are shown as Seth a midland Railway engine driver, living with his wife Elizabeth and their children Irene a lace net mender, Wallis a colliery ganger, Frank a colliery ganger, George a nut and bolt maker, Alice a scholar, Seth a scholar and Beatrice a scholar.
In the same 1911 Census we find that Ernest is shown as a visitor at 29 Stansfield Street, Old Basford , he is shown as being 24 yrs and a professional football player, playing for Gainsborough Trinity football club, he is staying with George James 33 yrs a coal miner and his family at the address .
Ernest married Charlotte Jude (born 13th October 1890) in Nottingham in 1913 and went on to have a daughter Nora Mettam in 1914 , the birth being recorded in the Shardlow Registration District she however sadly died in 1915. They lived at 43 Miall Street, Radford.
Ernest Austustus Mettam enlisted at Nottingham. He served initially with the Cyclist Corps, North Midland Division (18176 Private), before transferring to the 13th Battalion,Tank Corps.
He was awarded the Military Medal for action on 4 July 1918 at Hamel. (See 'Extra information'.)
Sergeant Mettam was killed in action on 8 August 1918. He is buried in Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, France, which was made after the Armistice (grave ref. IV. B).
CWGC history of Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery (extract): the village of Villers-Bretonneux is 16km from the town of Amiens. The Cemetery 'was made after the Armistice when graves were brought in from other burial grounds in the area and from the battlefields. Plots I to XX were completed by 1920 and contain mostly Australian graves, almost all from the period March to August 1918.' (www.cwgc.org) Use link to CWGC website for further information.
CWGC Additional information: Son of Mr and Mrs Seth Mettam of Stapleford, Notts. Husband of Charlotte Mettam (nee Jude).
Charlotte was awarded a pension of 16 shillings and 3 pence a week commencing 24 February 1919.
The award of the Military Medal was published in the London Gazette, 21 October 1918: 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty whilst acting as N.C.O. of a tank near Hamel on July 4th, 1918. Throughout the action he observed and controlled the fire with great skill so that the tank gunners succeeded in knocking out several enemy machine-gun posts, and in consequence saved the infantry many casualties. Two of the machine-guns knocked out by this tank were subsequently brought back. His coolness and courage under trying circumstances had a great influence on the crew.'
Nottingham Evening Post, 'Roll of Honour', 26 August 1918: 'Mettam. Killed in action, August 8th, Sergt. Ernest Mettam, M.M., Tank Corps, late Cyclist Coy., the devoted husband of Lottie Mettam (née Jude). Sweetest memories left behind of one loved so dear. Heartbroken wife.' Courtesy Jim Grundy facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918
Nottingham Evening Post, ‘In Memoriam’, 5 November 1920: 'Mettam. In fondest memory of Norah Kathleen, the dearly loved only child of Lottie and the late Sergt. Mettam, died November 5th, 1915. A day of remembrance. Mama, grandma, grandads, aunties, uncles.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Nottingham Evening Post, In Memoriam', 8 August 1921:
'Mettam. In loving memory of Sergt. Ernest Mettam, M.M., fell in action August 8th, 1918. Never forgotten. Wife Lottie, Mr. Mrs. Jude and family.'
'Mettam. In loving memory of Sergt. Ernest Mettam, killed in action August 8th, 1918. Always in out thoughts. Mother, father, brothers, sisters.”
Above courtesy Jim Grundy facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918
Ernest Augustus Mettam
Photograph showing Ernest Augustus Mettam with his wife, Charlotte and baby daughter Noral, courtesy of Steve Payne (ancestry.co.uk)