Joseph Sydney Edwards (1894–1916)

4459 Lance Corporal Joseph Sidney Edwards,
1/4 Hampshire Regiment,
Formerly 3085 The Wiltshire Regiment.
Died of wounds, Mesopotanua (Iraq), 27 February 1916
Buried at the Amara Cemetery.

It is now over nine years since I uploaded my post on Joseph Sydney Edwards, a serviceman whose connection with Ham, I wrote then, that ‘we’ were still working to identify. Reviewing his story this week for the anniversary of his death on 27 February 1916, I have been able to establish a connection with Ham.  I have found that, at the time that his mother applied for her military pension in 1919, her address was given as Whenhurst, Ham Common, Richmond.

Born in the last quarter of 1894 Woodford, Gloucestershire, and baptised on 6 January 1895 in Stone, Joseph was the only child of Frederick William Edwards, a domestic coachman, and his wife, Blanche Annie Meadows.  His birth was registered with his middle name spelt as Sidney, in which form it was provided to the army, though it is spelt as Sydney in other records. I have left his name as Sydney in the title, as it was recorded when I located my earliest records for him, and to be honest, I am not sure that I can alter the title as it is the main link to this post.

Frederick was a native of North Curry, near Taunton in Somerset, the son of a stone mason. Joseph’s mother, Blanche, was born in Longley, in Gloucestershire.  Joseph grew up in Bromham, near Chippenham in Wiltshire, and would have attended school until he was 13 (i .e. until about 1908). He worked as an Outfitter before enlisting, at Trowbridge, in the Wiltshire Regiment before being transferred to the 4th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment where he was promoted to Lance Corporal.

Joseph died of wounds on 27 February 1916 and is buried at the Amara Cemetery. The town of Amara became an important hospital centre for the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force and it is likely that Joseph was taken there to be treated in one of the seven general hospitals established there by the Expeditionary Force.

Since Joseph’s service record is not amongst the surviving ‘Burnt Records’, to obtain some idea of what event might have led to his death, the War Diary for his regiment was consulted at The National Archives.

It is not easy to work out in which military action he was participating when he received the injuries which were to prove fatal.  The months of January and February were scrutinised, and while it is possible that he was wounded in the preceding year , it is more likely that he was wounded in the action on 24th February in which Lourd Frank Newis died.

Extracts from the war diary of the Battalion for January 1916:–

14 Jan	Continued advance. Turkish trenches found evacuated.  Returned to bank of Tigris and went into camp at junction of Tigris & Wadi (left bank).
18 Jan	Tried to cross Tigris during night but returned to camp owing to breakdown of bridge.
21 Jan	Reveille 2 a.m. Marched out 3.30 a.m. Relieved 35th Brigade in support trenches 6 a.m.  Advanced in support of 35th Brigade at zero.  Attack unsuccessful.  Brigade ordered to retire at dusk.

From 22 January to 11 February, there was little military action.  Most work seemed to involve shifting the camp 600 yards back from the Tigris.  A sick officer was sent to hospital.

The figures for casualties in January were somewhat high.  Final figures were as follows:  Officers:  Killed 6; Wounded 6; Wounded and POW 1.
O.Rs: Killed 24; Died of wounds 7; Wounded 124; Missing 76.

From 19 February the Battalion was at the WADI CAMP.

21 Feb WADI CAMP	Reveille 4a.m.  Moved camp to supply depot.  Hostile aeroplane dropped bomb just outside old camp.  New ground very insanitary (sic).
22 FebTIGRIS RT BANK	The two Hampshire Companies under Capt. Body moved across river to look/& took [not sure which alternative it was] over two picquets and an examining post.
23 Feb–3 Mar	Picquet day on Rt Bank of Tigris.

There was no Casualty list in the war diary at the end of February.

The relevant Register of Soldiers’ Effects indicates that any money due to Joseph at the time of his death, as well as his personal effects, would have gone to his mother, who by then was living at Greenwood Cottage in Joseph’s father’s birthplace of North Curry.

Joseph was the only child of his parents, Frederick and Beatrice, who died in Wells in 1941 and 1951, respectively. The reports on their funerals in the Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer indicate that they had an adopted daughter, Dorothy Perry.

Dorothy Perry

Who exactkt was Dorothy Perry? In the report on Frederick’s funeral in 1941, she is listed in second place after his widow as Miss D Perry (adopted daughter). Ten years later, in the report on Beatrice’s funeral, she was listed first among the mourners as Dorothy (adopted daughter) and Phil. I fully intend to look her up, to find out whether she had any connection with Joseph. If she is of interest to you, do check back for an update.

Whenhurst, Ham Common

I have tried to identify Whenhurst by going through the 28 homes recorded as belonging to Ham Common in the 1921 Census, as this is the closest Census to 1919,

I know that, by 1921, both of his parents were back in Somerset.  Whenhurst is not yet on the spreadsheet I have been creating to list the current street number of the unnumbered houses and cottages in Ham and Petersham that I encounter in earlier records.

Glossary

Picquet: In its military sense, a picket (variant forms piquet or picket), usually refers to  troops sent further forward than the main body of troops in order to provide warning to the troops to their rear, of an enemy advance.   Sometimes they might construct a temporary, usually wooden, picket fort.

Sources

Somerset Guardian and Radstock Adviser, ‘Funeral of Mr F W Edward’s’, 12/12/1941, p.5, col.5.

Somerset Guardian and Radstock Adviser, ‘Funeral Service at Downside’, 16/2/1951, p.7, col.4.

The National Archives, WO 95/5146, War Diary of 1/4 Hampshire Regiment, (attached to the 12^th Indian Division) 1 December 1915–30 April 1916.   Please note: This record had not been digitised when the document was viewed 28/11/2014.