Born in Aylsham 8^th May 1896 the only son of George William Platten and Ann Frances Tortice and possibly christened William Ernest George.

The Platten family roots are in Aylsham. George and Ann married there on 10^th December 1892 and our soldier was baptised there 19^th July 1896. George was born in Marsham, one of possibly five and Ann in Aylsham.

Ernest had two sisters – Edith Harriet Tortice (Platten) born 1889 and Emily Caroline Elizabeth Platten born 21^st August 1893, also born in Aylsham. Edith married 28^th March 1910 in Little Brandon a William Henry Nudds and seems to have had two daughters. Her sister Emily married in *Walsingham district in 1915 a William H. Lakey and they were to have at least five children. [*Walsingham district covers Sharrington].

A George Platten appears on the Aylsham electoral roll from 1895, residing at Muckland and then moving from there to Town Lane during 1896. George resided here until 1902 when he moved to Fox Loke, where a Henry Platten also resided. This continues until 1906 but by the 1911 census Ernest is shown living in Sharrington with his father George and mother Ann. Both Ernest and his father are working as farm labourers.

In the electoral roll for Sharrington 1912, is a George Platten having moved from Egmere to “near the Chequers”. (A distance of about 10 miles). We know this location is present day number 22, Bale Road and it was here that George is recorded until 1915. Is this the same George Platten?

Ernest enlisted in Norwich and was probably initially in the Norfolk Regiment. When he was killed in action, 15^th February 1916 he was in the 7^th Battalion Border Regiment. Private 23102 like many he was reported ‘killed in action’ in the Western European theatre of war. But here comes the strange thing his parents are his next of kin but their address is given as ‘Fox Loke, Aylsham’ but Ernest is shown in the 1911 census in Sharrington with his parents.

Although farm labourers would have moved with work to houses owned by their employers why was the Aylsham address quoted? Maybe his parents were very transient workers and this was a ‘Platten’ family owned address?