William George Edwards
Memorial: Olveston
Regiment: Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 8500
Parents: Frederick and Ann Edwards
Home address: Olveston, Bristol
Date of birth: 1884
Date of death: 26/11/1914
Buried/Commemorated at: Boulogne Eastern Cemetery (Ref III. A. 72), Italy
Age: 31
Further information:
When six year-old William and his 11 year-old brother Frederick were at school in 1891, their father Frederick was a well-established carpenter and joiner in Olveston whilst their mother Ann ran the newsagent and stationer’s shop where 15 year-old Richard was employed as an errand boy. By this time the oldest boys, Oliver and Harry had left home. Ten years later, Richard had left home and William was employed in the shop but sought a somewhat more exciting career and on the 31st of October 1906, he enlisted in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and completed his recruit training at the Regimental Depot in Bodmin. His initial enlistment was for a period of seven years with the Colours and a further five in the Reserve. He was posted to the 1st Battalion on the 18th of February 1907 based at Woolwich, moving on to Gravesend in 1908, Tidworth in 1911 and Curragh in 1913. By this time William had completed his seven years and was transferred to the Reserve
When the army was mobilised on 4th August 1914, William was placed on active duty and joined the Regiment at Le Havre. By the evening of the 22nd August they were fighting at the Battle of Mons. There then followed the famous Retreat from Mons in which the British Expeditionary Force executed a masterly fighting withdrawal of 240 miles in 14 days. During the withdrawal, the 1st Battalion was involved in the Battle of Le Cateau as well as numerous delaying tactics designed to force the pursuing Germans to deploy. Arriving at Tournan on the 5th of September, the Battalion had just one day’s rest before being launched into the great counter-offensive which drove the Germans back. A series of battles was then fought as the British moved north to protect the Allied left flank in Flanders. As the British and German armies tried to out-flank each other, this became known as the ‘Race to the Coast’ The Battalion had moved from the village of La Flinque to Lindenhoek and on November 18th was subjected to shelling by the German heavy artillery. It was the day when the D.C.L.I. Bandsman T. E. Rendle of Bristol performed his act of bravery as a stretcher-bearer in rescuing Lt. Colebrook that was to earn him a Victoria Cross
William was wounded and taken to the British Military Hospital at Boulogne where he died on the 26th of November 1914. He is buried in the nearby Boulogne Eastern Cemetery. William's brother Richard returned from the war to enjoy the peace
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
CWGC