Ernest Robert Seaman

Ernest Robert Seaman was a British Army soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Serving with The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers during the final months of World War I, he performed a series of heroic actions during the Hundred Days Offensive near Cambrai in September 1918, for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation highlights extraordinary courage and leadership in single-handedly attacking enemy machine-gun posts, an act that allowed his company to advance but cost him his life.

Early life and education

Ernest Robert Seaman was born in 1893 in the city of Norwich, within the county of Norfolk. Details of his early family life and formal education are not extensively recorded in historical archives. Prior to the outbreak of the First World War, he was employed as a farm labourer, a common occupation in the agricultural region of East Anglia. Like many of his generation, his life was irrevocably changed by the events of August 1914, leading him to enlist for military service in the British Army following the declaration of war by the United Kingdom.

Military service

Seaman enlisted in Norfolk, joining the British Army and was posted to the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, a line infantry regiment with a long history. His battalion saw extensive service on the Western Front as part of the 36th (Ulster) Division. He participated in the grueling conditions of trench warfare and several major engagements of the war. By the autumn of 1918, he held the rank of Lance Corporal and was involved in the Hundred Days Offensive, the Allied push that ultimately led to the Armistice of 11 November 1918. This offensive included the Battle of the Canal du Nord and operations in the vicinity of Cambrai.

Victoria Cross action

The action for which Seaman was awarded the Victoria Cross took place on 29 September 1918, east of Cambrai during an attack on the German defensive Hindenburg Line. His company was held up by intense machine-gun fire from three enemy posts. According to the official citation in the London Gazette, Seaman, with complete disregard for his own safety, rushed forward alone. He successfully bombed and silenced the first post, killing its crew. He then continued his one-man assault, capturing the second post and turning its machine gun on the retreating enemy. While advancing on the third and final post, he was fatally wounded. His supreme act of bravery and initiative allowed his company to resume its advance and capture its objective.

Later life and legacy

Lance Corporal Ernest Robert Seaman was killed in action during the exploit that earned him the Victoria Cross. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial in France, which bears the names of over 9,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South Africa who fell in the period after the Battle of the Somme and have no known resting place. His posthumous Victoria Cross was presented to his family. His medal group is held by the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Museum at Enniskillen Castle in Northern Ireland. Seaman is remembered as one of the many courageous individuals whose actions contributed to the final Allied victory in the First World War. Category:British World War I soldiers Category:Recipients of the Victoria Cross Category:1893 births Category:1918 deaths Category:People from Norwich