Spotted online
Julie Groom sent me this delightful article regarding her 2 x great-uncle Ernest Valentine Cherry who owned his own travel company. In 1929 he managed to escort 40 American travel agents across Europe, having a banquet in each place they stayed. The 50th banquet, on the 42nd day, was in London. The tour was to show the group of travel agents the delights of Europe so they could go home and sell more holidays.
At the outbreak of war, Ernest was recalled to military service in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as the officer in charge of traffic. He arranged the logistics of the munitions being transported from the UK, which was a role he’d also performed in World War I. Promoted to Major, Ernest sadly became very unwell with a brain tumour and died at the Military Hospital for Head Injuries in Oxford on 17 March 1942. He was brought back to his home town of Liverpool to be buried in a Commonwealth War Grave Commission grave in Anfield Cemetery, within the war graves section. Although he didn’t die in combat, Ernest was in military service at the time of his death so was awarded a CWGC grave.