Ernest Cole Fleming MC

Fleming attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from 1901, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in July 1903 and promoted to Lieutenant in July 1906. Part of his early career was spent in Ireland with the 15th Battery Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) at Waterford and Dundalk. By 1909 he was serving with 77th Battery of 6 Brigade, RHA stationed at Lucknow, India. A year later he was commanding ‘A’ Ammunition Column at Campbellpore in the Punjab near Rawalpindi. Late in 1912 he returned to Britain and was posted to K Battery, RHA.
He was still with K Battery at the outbreak of war and arrived at the front in early October as part of 15 Brigade [later renumbered 4 Brigade] attached to the 3rd Cavalry Division. By the end of October he had been promoted to Captain and in January 1915 transferred, as Adjutant, to 45 Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (RFA) part of the 8th Division. He was Mentioned in Despatches in May 1915 while serving with 45 Brigade which he left in October 1915 to take command of a battery (unidentified at present). He was Mentioned in Despatches for a second time in April 1916, took part in the Battle of the Somme later that year and was wounded in November, which resulted in several months recuperation in Britain. During this period at home his MC was announced in the New Year’s Honours of 1st January 1917 and he married in January 1917.
He returned to the front in March 1917 in time to take part in the Battles of Arras in April and Messines Ridge in the first half of June. He was gassed during the latter and send home for a short while but was back by the 25th June. At his death he was commanding C Battery in 121 Brigade, 38th Division but it is apparent, from letters of condolence, that he had not been there long.