Edwin John Padfield
Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial
Regiment: Somerset Light Infantry
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 40263
Parents: Edwin and Mary Ann Padfield
Home address: 12 Montrose Avenue, Brislington, Bristol
Date of birth: 1899
Place of birth: Kingswood, Bristol
Date of death: 30/06/1918
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Couin New British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Not commemorated on a local memorial
Age: 18
Further information:
Edwin was born in Kingswood, the son of a dairyman and the eldest child of five with one brother and three sisters.
Edwin would have been called up after his 18th birthday at the end of 1917 and after basic training it is likely that he joined his the 8th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry in France in the Spring of 1918 and taken part in the Battle of the Ancre which was one of the Battles of the Somme. He was killed in action three months afterwards at a time when his battalion were not engaged in a specific action. It is possible therefore that his death occurred during day to day trench warfare that accounted for around 300 deaths per day throughout the war. The cemetery where Edwin is buried was located near Couin Chateau which was used as Army divisional headquarters from 1915 to 1918 and the cemetery itself used by field ambulances.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Some information supplied by Kingswood Heritage Museum