We are sad to announce the death of Ernest ( Ernie) Aust aged 103.
Ernie was born on 4th August 1921 in Enfield. He was the youngest of six children, although the eldest had died a few years before. Ernie’s Dad was a Police Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police, and unfortunately he died when Ernie was six. Ernie’s Mum made the very difficult decision to send Ernie and his brother Charlie to live in the Metropolitan & City Police Orphanage in Twickenham. There, he received a good education, although he missed his home. At aged 14 he went to a commercial school in Chiswick where he learned typing, shorthand, book-keeping etc. The Orphanage closed in 1937 and for the last year of his education he was living back home with his Mum and travelling to Chiswick from Enfield, travel expenses and clothing being paid for by the Orphanage fund. After a short stint working for the local council, he managed to get a job working as a shorthand typist at a solicitors’ firm based in Holborn in London.
When war broke out Ernie joined the Home Guard. In 1941 he received his call-up papers and joined the RAF, where he used his administrative and financial skills to support operations as a clerk. After his initial training in Great Yarmouth, he worked at a flying training school in Grantham. He was posted overseas in 1943 and served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy with Tactical Air Force HQ and Mediterranean Allied Air Forces HQ until the end of the war in Europe. When the war ended he was sent to Australia and spent the remainder of his service at the Base Accounts Office in Melbourne, Victoria until 1946.
Following the war he returned to the solicitors’ in Holborn where he transferred to the costs department, and after a few years he took a job with another law firm. It was on holiday with friends in 1953 on the Isle of Wight when he met his future wife and love of his life Lily, who also happened to be on holiday with friends. At the end of their 2 week holiday they knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, although it was a year before they were officially engaged. Lily, who worked for the civil service, transferred to London and they married at St Michael and All Angels Church in Enfield on 2nd April 1955.
Ernie’s mum had died in 1954, and in 1957 they decided to move up to Newcastle, as Lily was a Geordie and her parents lived there. Ernie took a job as a costs clerk with the Newcastle based Solicitors Clayton & Gibson, where he remained until his retirement in 1986.
Lily and Ernie had 3 children, and now have 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
For many years the couple owned a motor caravan, and spent many happy holidays travelling up and down the country, firstly with their young family and then carrying on into their retirement, until the driving became too exhausting! Ernie always loved the arts, enjoying drawing and painting, pottery, and writing and reciting poems. He had a lovely singing voice. He was a keen puzzler, and watched Countdown for many years, appearing on the show in 1987.
Lily and Ernie moved into a Care Home in 2020 in the middle of lockdown, but remained together until July 2023 when Lily moved into a specialist dementia home. They last saw each other for a valentine meal on 14th February 2024. Ernie died on 8th March 2024, his daughters Jan and Helen were at his side.
