Ernest Brice

Major Ernest Brice – Royal Army Medical Corps

Early Life

Ernest Brice was born in 1864 at Leicester, the son of John Brice and Charlotte Eliza Rebecca Kempton.

1871 Census

At the time of the 1871 Census, seven-year-old Ernest was living with his family at 137 Market Place, Wirksworth, Derbyshire. His father, John, aged 60, was employed as a saddler, while his mother, Charlotte, was 49. Ernest lived there with his older brother, Castledine, 15.

Marriage and Family

In 1898, Ernest married Olive Gorrie Carmichael.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the couple were living at 50 Station Road, Swansea. Ernest, aged 37, was working as a physician, while Olive, aged 29, managed the household. Their daughter, Agnes Irene Catherine, was one year old. Also living in the household were Olive’s younger sister, Maggie Gladys Carmichael, 15, and a servant, Eliza Jane Seymour, 21.

1911 Census

A decade later, the 1911 Census recorded the Brice family at 18 Mackworth Street, Swansea. Ernest, now 47, was still practicing as a doctor. Olive, 39, was at home with their children: Agnes, 11; Castledine Kimplin, 9; Archibald Nank Gorrie, 6; and Christine Mary, 5. The family also employed two servants, Amy Brake, 22, and Gladys, 15.

Public Health Work

Herald of Wales

In 1910, Swansea faced an outbreak of diphtheria, a serious and often fatal disease before the advent of modern antibiotics. The Herald of Wales reported on the situation and quoted Dr. Ernest Brice, who reassured the public that conditions were “not as bad as they had been.”

As a physician in Swansea during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brice was part of the city’s first line of defence against recurring epidemics of diphtheria, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis, all of which posed particular dangers in overcrowded working-class districts. His work reflects the essential role played by local doctors in balancing reassurance with medical intervention, often under challenging conditions where poverty and poor sanitation made disease outbreaks difficult to control.

This commitment to community health in Swansea foreshadowed his later service with the Royal Army Medical Corps, where he applied his medical expertise to the demands of war.

Military Service and Death

With the outbreak of the First World War, Ernest enlisted with the Royal Army Medical Corps, where he held the rank of Major.

Ernest Brice
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

He died on 5^th April 1916 and was buried at Danygraig Cemetery, Swansea.

Legacy

Major Ernest Brice’s career bridged both civilian and military service. As a physician in Swansea, he played a key role in safeguarding public health during epidemics, and his medical work earned him respect within the community. Later, as an officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps, he joined the many doctors who brought their skills to the battlefield, tending to soldiers and managing wartime medical crises.

His burial at Danygraig Cemetery places him among Swansea’s roll of war dead, but his story also reflects the broader contribution of doctors and medical officers during the First World War. His life serves as a reminder that the war effort was not only fought in the trenches but also in hospitals and surgeries, where men like Ernest Brice continued their service to humanity under the most testing circumstances.