Ernie Baker, who lives in Belgium and whose parents once settled in Birmingham, is on a heartfelt quest to find surviving family members of Private Ernest E. Penn, a West Bromwich soldier who died during the Second World War more than 80 years ago.
Private Penn served with the 1st Battalion Herefordshire Regiment and was killed in action at the Battle of Overloon in the Netherlands on October 18, 1944, following Operation Market Garden. He was just 27 years old.
The search carries great personal significance for Ernie, 77, who was named after the fallen soldier as a promise from his mother, Julienne Baker, originally from Belgium. After Pte Penn’s death, Julienne, who once gave French lessons to Lilian May Penn—the widow of Private Penn in West Bromwich—vowed that her first son would bear the name of her pupil’s lost son.
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Ernie’s father, Norman Baker, was a member of the British Liberation Army. After being demobilized in 1946, he and his family settled in Birmingham, close to the Penn family home. Julienne visited Pte Penn’s grave at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Venray, Holland, honoring the promise before Ernie was born in 1948.
Despite exhaustive efforts spanning four years, volunteers affiliated with the Adoption War Graves program at the CWGC Venray War Cemetery have been unable to locate any surviving relatives of Pte Penn. Records reveal numerous individuals with the surname Penn still live in West Bromwich and the wider West Midlands area, offering hope that family members may yet be found.
Ernie, a member of the Royal British Legion in Belgium, has now made a public appeal to anyone who knows the Penn family or might be related to come forward.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, Ernie recalled his mother’s deep empathy for Lilian’s loss and her commitment to honoring the fallen soldier through her son’s name. He also noted the poignant connection that Pte Penn’s regiment liberated Julienne’s home region in 1944, and that his parents married shortly after the war before settling near West Bromwich.
Private Penn was the son of Robert Edward Penn and Lilian May Penn. It’s believed Robert may also have died during the war, possibly due to bombing.
Anyone with information or a possible family link is encouraged to contact Ernie directly at [email protected].