Edgar was born on 21st December 1896 to Andrew and Jane in Portsmouth, Hampshire and was aged four when recorded on the 1901 census. He was the fourth child of six at the time and eldest son to the couple and the family lived at 131 Guildford Road, Portsmouth, close to the dockyard where Andrew worked as a shipwright. Andrew’s work had taken him to some warmer climes as two of Edgar’s sisters had been born in Malta.
The family had moved by the 1911 census to 178 Shearer Road, Portsmouth - his two eldest sisters had left the household and Edgar attended school with his younger brothers. Andrew still worked as a shipwright.
Edgar joined the Navy straight from school for twelve years service, recorded with flaxen hair, grey eyes, a mole on his right scapula and measuring 4’11” tall.
HMS FISGARD - 20/07/1912 - 31/07/1916, training as a Boy Artificer, rising to E.R.A 5th Class on 01/08/1916
HMS VICTORY II - 01/08/1916 - 22/08/1916
HMS VANGUARD - 23/08/1916 - 09/07/1917, rising to Acting E.R.A 4th Class on 01/07/1917
Edgar missed participating at the Battle of Jutland due to his training at FISGARD (the training establishment for engineers which was originally the old battleship HMS AUDACIOUS).
Following his death, Edgar’s pension was awarded to his father, as well as his Victory and British war medals. He is remembered in perpetuity on the Chatham Naval Memorial.
# 306 - 109/843
Sources:
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 Free BMD
1901 & 1911 England Census
Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939 National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services; Class: ADM 188; Piece: 1027
British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960 National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Admiralty: Naval Casualties, Indexes, War Grave Rolls and Statistics Book, First World War.; Class: ADM 242; Piece: 007 (1914 - 1919)
CWGC Register
Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1919 TNA Series: ADM 242/7; Scan Number: 0512
World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 Western Front Association; London, England; WWI Pension Record Cards and Ledgers; Reference: 029/0124/BRO-BRO
Photo courtesy of Steven Spink