Part 65

=EASON, SAMPSON=, Lieut., 5th (Service) Battn. Dorsetshire Regt.; yst. _s._ of Robert Eason, of Crewkerne, Farmer, by his wife, Ellen, dau. of John Marks; _b._ Crewkerne, co. Somerset, 20 April, 1876; enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regt. 7 March, 1893; served in India, and in the South African campaign (Queen’s medal with two clasps); and was Colour-Sergt. Instructor to H Co., 4th (Territorial) Battn. Dorsetshire Regt. at Blandford, 1909–14. He obtained his discharge with the same rank, 6 March, 1914, after 21 years’ service, and received the Long Service medal, and went to live near Dorchester. On the outbreak of war he at once volunteered for active service, and after helping as Coy. Sergt.-Major to train the 5th (Service) Battn. of the Dorsets, he was offered a commission, and was gazetted Lieut. to his own battn. 8 March, 1915. He left with his regt. for the Dardanelles, 1 July, 1915, and was killed in action at the landing at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, 7 Aug. 1915, being shot through the head whilst directing the men to their companies. In the official report from Brig.-Gen. C. C. Hannay, lately commanding 5th Dorsets, he said: “Lieut. Eason was shot through the head, dying shortly after, on the 7th instant at Suvla Bay, about a quarter-of-an-hour after he landed. It was about 4 a.m. and dark at the time; I was within two yards of him at the time. He never spoke after he fell.” A Sergt. of the same company wrote: “It was the duty of Mr. Eason and myself to direct the men to their proper companies as they came ashore in the dark. About half-an-hour after landing, I was talking to Mr. Eason, and he had only left me two or three seconds when the Colonel called me to come to him and pick somebody up. I did, and when I turned him over I found it was Mr. Eason. Everything was done for him that could be done, but he did not speak. The doctor was with him almost at once. He died doing his duty, which he always did, and was always considered a good N.C.O. and afterwards a good officer, and we were very sorry to lose him.” And Colonel Woodhouse, 4th Dorsetshire Regt., declared: “I knew him very well, and always found him one of the best, he never spared himself to do his men good and was just the same in civilian life. Unfortunately, there are very few such men to be found now, and I am sure he will be greatly missed in his regt.”; a brother officer also wrote: “I always looked on him as a friend from whom I could get advice and help in my work. The last time I saw him, which was on the destroyer before we landed, he did me a good turn which I shall not forget. Earlier in the evening I, being orderly officer, had to see to the issuing out of hot coffee to the men, and it was a long job, as the space is very cramped. Later in the evening there was an issue of rum to be served out. It really fell to my lot to superintend this, but your husband, with his usual kindness of heart, relieved me of it. I am sorry to say I was not near him at the end. It was before we had got off the beach.” Lieut. Eason _m._ at St. Simon’s Church, Southsea, 5 Dec. 1907, Mabel Ellen (Southsea), yst. dau. of the late James Lewis Adams, C.C.S., late District Magistrate of Flat and Gabriel Islands, Mauritius; _s.p._

=EAST, ALFRED CHARLES=, A.B. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9621), 199377, H.M.S Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=EAST, GEORGE=, Rifleman, No. 3098, 21st Battn. (1st Surrey Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), yst. _s._ of the late Joseph East, of Westminster, London, by his wife, Susan (36, Grosvenor Terrace, Camberwell, S.E.), dau. of Francis Smallcombe; _b._ London, 24 May, 1893; educ. L.C.C. School, Westminster; enlisted, 30 Aug. 1914, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 25 May, 1915; _unm._

=EASTERBROOK, WILLIAM THOMAS=, A.B., 206711 (Dev.), H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=EATON, ARTHUR ERNEST WILSON=, Private, No. 1335, 11th (West Australian) Battn. Australian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of George Wilson Eaton, of Park Street, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gardener, by his wife, Harriett Elizabeth, dau. of Frederick Arthurs; _b._ Tiddington, near Stratford-on-Avon, co. Warwick, 27 March, 1892; went to Perth, Western Australia, in 1913, and was employed as a farm hand; joined the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force, 2 Nov. 1914; left Australia with the second reinforcements; and was killed in action at the Dardanelles, 1 Aug. 1915; _unm._ A comrade wrote: “He was killed outright on 31 July, 1915. The sad event happened at night. Although he was wounded, he volunteered to carry ammunition for a machine gun. It was while doing this he met his death. He was buried at Anzac and a wooden cross was erected with the names of those who fell in the taking of Leans trench.”

=EATON, ARTHUR THOMAS=, Stoker, P.O., 302154, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=EBSARY, FREDERICK ERNEST=, Private, No. 1138, 1st Newfoundland Regt., 5th _s._ of Newman Ebsary, of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Engineer, by his wife, Sarah, dau. of the late Joseph Hinds, of Cupid, Newfoundland, and granddaughter of the late Alexander Hinds, of Whitehaven, England; _b._ South Side, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 30 Aug. 1898; educ. St. Mary’s C.E. School there; volunteered for Imperial Service on the outbreak of war and joined the 1st Newfoundland Regt., 19 Feb. 1915; left for England on 20 March, 1915, and died at Cairo, 23 Sept. 1915, of Tubercular Meningitis contracted while on active service. Two of his brothers, Regtl. Sergt.-Major S. J. Ebsary and Private H. Ebsary, are both now (1916) on active service with the Newfoundland Regt.

=EBY, ALEXANDER RALPH=, Private, No. 13627, No. 2 Coy. 5th Battn. 2nd Infantry Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force, eldest _s._ of the late Alexander Eby, of Berlin, Ontario, Foreman of Glove Manufactory, by his wife, Nellie, dau. of the late James Bennett Watson, of England, and gt. gt. gdson. of Bishop Benjamin Eby, of the Mennonite Connection, who was _b._ in Pennsylvania in 1785 and settled in Canada in 1807, and founded the town of Berlin; and 6th in descent from Christian Eby who came to Pennsylvania from Switzerland as a boy in 1715; _b._ Berlin, Ontario, 3 Aug. 1891; educ. Berlin Public and High Schools, matriculating at the latter in 1908, and two years later took up a homestead at Abbey, Saskatchewan. He enlisted for Overseas service at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, in Aug. 1914; left Valcartier for England with the first Contingent in Oct., and after training on Salisbury Plain during the winter of 1914–15, crossed to France in Feb., 1915, and was killed in action there, 21 March, 1915; _unm._ Major G. S. Pragnell wrote: “He was one of the best and most willing men of the Company and at the time that he was actually shot he was working hard helping to strengthen the trench”; and Lieut. L. F. Page: “Ever since your brother came under my commission at Valcartier I always found him most cheerful and willing. He was making a good soldier and always doing his duty well.” Three of his comrades also wrote: “Your brother’s death was severely felt by the remainder of the boys of his company as he was a general favourite with all who knew him. He was buried [at La Boutillerie Chateau, a few miles east of Laventie, France] in the evening of March 21, by the chaplain of our Battn., beside two of his comrades.”

=ECCLESHARE, THOMAS BERNARD=, Cook’s Mate, M. 4167, H.M.S. Hawke, _s._ of Thomas Eccleshare, of 10, Merchant Street, Derby; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=EDBROOKE, FRANK THOMAS=, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 5159, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=EDDISON, JAMES=, Corpl., No. 9446, C Coy., 2nd Battn. Highland L.I., eldest _s._ of James Eddison, of Aberdeen, by his wife, Jemina, dau. of (--) Wilson; _b._ Aberdeen, ... March, 1886; educ. there; enlisted 31 May, 1904; served three years with the Colours and then passed into the Reserve and worked as a Packing Case Maker; mobilised 4 Aug. 1914; went to France and was killed in action at Loos, 25 Sept. 1915; _unm._ Buried in Givenchy Cemetery. Eddison was well-known in Aberdeen Football circles and played for the Regimental Football Team and the Shamrock Club. He _m._ 9 Oct. 1908, Jeannie (55, Gallowgate, Aberdeen), dau. of William Sutherland, of Aberdeen, Contractor, and had two children: James, _b._ 27 July, 1912; and Martha Sutherland, _b._ 23 May, 1909.

=EDDISON, JOHN RADLEY=, 2nd Lieut., 1/8th Battn. Sherwood Foresters (T.F.), yst. _s._ of Robert Eddison, of Mount Vernon, Retford, Notts; _b._ Woodlands, near Worksop, 6 March, 1889; educ. Stancliffe Hall, near Matlock, Giggleswick, and Pembroke College, Cambridgeshire, at which latter he was in the O.T.C. He was gazetted into the Sherwood Foresters, 14 Oct. 1914, went with his regt. to the front, served in France and Flanders, and was killed in action, being shot through the body while superintending repairs of wire entanglements, at or near Kemmel, 21 April, 1915. He was buried in the Sherwood Foresters’ Cemetery at Kemmel, Belgium; _unm._

=EDEN, ROBERT JAMES=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R., B. 9842), 297722, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=EDGE, FREDERICK CHARLES=, Corpl., No. 24245, 13th Battn. (Royal Highlanders of Canada), Canadian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of the late George Edge, of Eyton-on-Severn, Blacksmith, by his wife, Eleanor, dau. of Alfred Downes; _b._ Eyton-on-Severn, Wroxetter, co. Salop, 19 July, 1886; educ. Donnington School, Wroxetter; went to Canada in April, 1912, and settled at Cranbrooke, B.C., as a railway mechanic; enlisted at Cranbrooke in Aug. 1914; came over with the 1st Contingent in Oct. 1914; went to France, 26 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at Festubert, 29 May, 1915, being shot by a sniper while he was leaving the trenches; _unm._

=EDGINTON, ROBERT WALTER LAURENCE=, Lieut., 5th Battn. Royal Warwickshire Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of Robert William Edginton, of 70, Portland Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, M.D.; by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Walter Showell, of Stourton Hall; _b._ Edgbaston, Birmingham, 14 Sept. 1895; educ. Bradfield College and Birmingham University; received a commission in the Territorial Battn. of the Warwickshire Regt. 28 Nov. 1913, and on the outbreak of war volunteered for foreign service; went to France, 21 March, 1915; was promoted Lieut. 27 May, 1915, and was killed in action in France, 3 June, 1915. He was buried at White Gates, Petit Pont, Ploegsteert Wood; _unm._ Some three weeks before he was killed, on 9 May, Lieut. Edginton performed a very gallant action, and was recommended by his commanding officer for bravery. This was described in letters from his brother officers as follows: Two privates were in front of the trenches acting as snipers, when one of them was wounded, his comrade was trying to get him back to the trench when he was also wounded. Lieut. Edginton, seeing this, went out to his assistance and brought him safely into the trench, and then went back to rescue the other man, who, when he reached him, he found was dead. In order to do this Lieut. Edginton had to make a detour of 40 or 50 yards to get through the wire entanglements and during the whole time was under severe rifle and shell fire.

=EDLMANN, ERNEST ELLIOT, D.S.O.=, Major, R.A., 5th _s._ of the late Major Joseph Ernest Edlmann, 1st King’s Dragoon Guards, by his wife, Caroline Sim (Kent House, Leamington), dau. of William Elliot, Madras Civil Service; _b._ at Leamington, 24 Nov. 1868; educ. at Leamington College (1879–85) and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; gazetted 2nd Lieut. R.A., 17 Feb. 1888; and promoted Lieut. 17 Feb. 1891, Capt. 24 Oct. 1898, and Major 15 Dec. 1908; served in the Chin Hills, Burmah, 1892–3 (medal with clasp); in the Sudan; expedition to Dongola, 1890 (medal, Egyptian medal), and in the operations on the North West Frontier, India, 1897–8, first with the Mohmand Field Force, and then with the Tirah Expeditionary Force; present at the actions of Chagru-Kotal and Dargai, and the capture of Sanpagha and Arhanga Passes, the actions of 9, 16 and 24 Nov., the operations in Bara Valley, 7–14 Dec., and the affair at Shinkamar, 29 Jan.; and was mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 5 April, 1898], and received the medal with two clasps, and the D.S.O. (invested by Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace, 16 Nov. 1908. The Madras Weekly Mail of 18 Nov. 1897, in its account of the taking of the Sanpagha Pass, wrote: “Part of the 5th Bombay Mountain Battery shelled the position at 500 yards range, under a hot fire from the sungar. The only position which the battery could get was on the top of a sort of pinnacle, and two guns fell off this from their own recoil. The greatest credit is due to Lieut. Edlmann for the way he fought his guns under great difficulties, and with a fire being poured in at him from a short range,” and Capt. MacNunn, D.S.O., the Artillery expert, writing in the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution on the same incident, said: “This was almost entirely an artillery battle, and the effect of combined fire completely drove off the enemy; heavy infantry fighting had, however, been looked for and a big casualty list. The fight ended by No. 5 Bombay Mountain Battery being pushed forward, when Capt. de Butts, R.A., was killed on rounding a bluff at the head of his battery, which suddenly came under a fire from the ridge in front. Lieut. Edlmann at once assumed command, and, taking a section, closed in to 500 yards and cleared the ridge of the enemy, a most dashing feat, for which he was commended in despatches. It is no small thing to stand to your guns at 500 yards’ range from marksmen armed with Martinis and Lee-Metfords, but so does audacity bring its own reward in war, that, wonderful to relate, there were no more casualties in the section.” In 1900, Major Edlmann was appointed to raise and command the Abbottabad Mountain Battery (now No. 30 M.B.). This he did with great success, obtaining a second class classification for shooting in the spring of 1902, and first class every subsequent year of his command. He took this battery on service in the Aden Hinterland in 1903–4. In 1902 he was selected to command the Indian Contingent of Native Mountain Artillery, which was present at the Coronation of King Edward VII., on which occasion he was described in The Times as being the best range-finder in the Royal Regt. of Artillery. He was appointed to No. 1 British Mountain Battery in 1910, subsequently transferring to No. 23 Peshawar Mountain Battery, which he was commanding in the 1914–5 operations in the Persian Gulf. In Mesopotamia he took part in the operations of 11, 15 and 17 Nov., near Mohammerah, Saihan, and Sahil respectively. The most skilful and dashing counter-attack carried out by his battery in connection with an infantry unit on the 11th and the admirably directed and highly effective artillery fire of the 15th and 17th are both mentioned in despatches. In the Turkish attack on our position at Shaiba on 11 April, Major Edlmann is mentioned in despatches for the clever handling of his battery and accuracy of fire in silencing the enemy’s guns and repelling his attack. The despatches also speak of the magnificent support given by the artillery throughout the campaign. Major Edlmann was mortally wounded at the Battle of Barjisijah on 14 April, having just taken over the duties of C.R.A., that officer having been wounded. Our troops, over open ground, were attacking a superior force of the enemy skilfully entrenched and concealed over a front of 3 miles. Major Edlmann was much beloved by officers and men alike, while in Military circles it was recognised, in the words of the obituary in the Court Journal, that “he was a fine officer and should have gone far in the service. He was certainly the first gunner in the service.” An officer wrote to his family after his death: “He was one of the bravest men I have ever met, an ideal artillery officer, always absolutely cool--quite indifferent to the heaviest fire.” The entire battery voluntarily paraded at the funeral, and his character was summed up by one of the native officers, whose grief on hearing the news was most touching: “He was such a good and brave Sahib.” Major Edlmann was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a very keen naturalist, preferring shooting in the mountains in the north of India to all other forms of sport. Except for an expedition in Burma, he always selected fresh areas in Kashmir, Ladak, Zaskar, Baltistan, and the many other districts of that part of the Himalayas between India proper and Russian and Chinese Turkestan. He knew all these districts well, and made a very good and varied collection of heads and birds. He presented a collection of rare birds to the Leamington Museum. On these expeditions he always travelled very light, and his powers of walking being almost phenomenal, he was able to cover large tracts of country. He was a keen polo player, though of recent years he had been obliged reluctantly to give this up, owing to the results of bad enteric fever. He _m._ at Abbottabad, 19 Sept. 1908, Evelyn, dau. of Major-Gen. Lorne Campbell, C.B., 38th Dogras, and had four children: Joseph Campbell, _b._ 24 Jan. 1909; Ernest Lorne Campbell, _b._ 28 April, 1914; Antonie Lorne Campbell, _b._ 13 Oct. 1910; and Adine Lorne Campbell, _b._ 24 Aug. 1912.

=EDMOND, ALFRED THOMAS=, Private, No. 11804, 1st Battn. South Wales Borderers, 4th _s._ of the late Seaward Richard Edmonds, Sapper R.E. (see following notice), by his wife, Esther Jane; _b._ Cardiff, 5 Aug. 1897; educ. Lansdown School, Cardiff; enlisted the day war was declared, 5 Aug. 1914; and was killed in action, 29 Jan. 1915; _unm._

=EDMOND, SEAWARD RICHARD=, Sapper, No. 606, 1st Glamorganshire Fortress Coy., Royal Engineers (T.F.), _s._ of Seaward Richard Edmond, Brewer; _b._ Haverfordwest, 6 July, 1865; educ. there; and was a Commission Agent in Cardiff. He had joined the Glamorgan Garrison Artillery Volunteers, and at the time war was declared was a bandsman with the rank of Sergt.-Major. He joined the Royal Engineers as a sapper, 4 Aug. 1914; went to France, and died there of heart failure, 25 Jan. 1915. He _m._ at Roath Church, Cardiff, 23 Jan. 1887, Esther Jane (Kingsland Road, Cardiff), dau. of (--) and had 11 children: William Seward; Albert Ernest, Private, R.F.A., on active service; Harry Lewis; Alfred Thomas, Private, South Wales Borderers (killed); Archie Bernard; Gordon Stanley; Elise Marie: Esther Jane; Kathleen; Doris Mullar; and Irene. Sergt.-Major Edmond was well known in the Cardiff District as a musician and had the Long Service medal.

=EDMONDS, JOSEPH LEONARD=, Chief Petty Officer (N.S.) (R.F.R., A. 1942), 147080, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=EDSELL, GEORGE ALFRED=, M.D., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., Lieut.-Col., 83rd Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C., yst. _s._ of the late James Edsell, of Beulah Hill, Norwood [a direct descendent of Capt. James Cook, R.N., the discoverer of Australia], by his wife, Phœbe Caroline, dau. of (..) Jones; _b._ Aberdovey, co. Merioneth, 18 Jan. 1859; educ. King’s College and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital; qualified L.R.C.P., London, 1886; M.R.C.S. England, and L.S.A., 1886; M.D. Durham, 1902; D.P.H., R.C.P.S., London, and D.P.H. Camb., 1905; was Res. Obst. Asst. and Clin. Asst. Royal Eye Hospital, Southwark, and afterwards Hon. Surgeon Home for Cripples, Surbiton, and Clin. Asst. Samaritan Hospital for Women. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Public Health, a member of the British Medical Association, an Hon. Life Member of the St. John Ambulance Association, and Surveyor of the Medical Department at the Admiralty, and author of “Successful Reposition of a Completely Severed Finger.” He had joined the Oxfordshire L.I. in 1889 as Surgeon-Lieut., and retired 10 years later as Capt., but when the Territorial Force was organised in 1908, he joined the R.A.M.C. with his former rank. He was promoted Major shortly afterwards, and in 1911 became Lieut.-Col., and on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, volunteered for foreign service. He proceeded to Flanders with the 27th Regular Division, and was present throughout the operations round Ypres and the Battles at Hill 60 and St. Eloi. At the latter place he contracted pleurisy, but continued to do his work until he was invalided home at the end of April, and after a long illness died at Surbiton, 15 Aug. 1915. He was exceptionally good at all games, a fine shot, and for many years hunted with the Bicester and South Oxfordshire Hounds. He was exceedingly popular with the officers and men of his unit, and even after contracting his fatal illness never spared himself but worked unceasingly at his arduous duties, never giving to anyone a task which he was not prepared to perform himself. He _m._ at Byfleet, 14 July, 1887, Annie Isabel (The Cedars, Surbiton), eldest dau. of William Haines, of The Cedars, Byfleet, Surrey, and had six children, of whom survive: George Lynton, Capt. 1st Battn. Hampshire Regt., _b._ 23 April, 1888; Arthur Reginald Kepp, Capt. 6th Battn. East Surrey Regt., _b._ 10 July, 1889; Eric Valentine, Lieut. 6th Battn. East Surrey Regt., _b._ 13 Feb. 1891, all three (now 1916) on active service; Phœbe Ella, _b._ 8 Jan. 1893; and Kathleen Isabel, _b._ 8 Nov. 1895.

=EDWARDS, ALBERT=, Armourer, 342029, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=EDWARDS, ALBERT GEORGE=, Boy, 1st Class, J. 27375 (Dev.), H.M.S. Hawke, _s._ of Alfred Edwards, of 8, Gorton Street, Hyde Road, Ardwick, Manchester; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=EDWARDS, ERIC LEA PRIESTLEY=, Capt., 1st Battn. East Yorks. Regt., eldest _s._ of Lea Priestley Edwards, of Warberry Court, Torquay, by his wife, Emily Gertrude, 2nd dau. of Sir Henry Edwards, 1st Bart., C.B.; _b._ Scarborough, 2 March, 1877; educ. Harrow and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. East Yorkshires, 20 Feb. 1897; promoted Lieut. 31 July, 1898, and Capt. 15 May, 1903; was Adjutant to a Volunteer battn. July, 1907–March, 1908, and in the Territorial Force, April, 1908–July, 1910; served with the Tirah Expedition, 1897–8, being present at the operations in the Bara Valley, 7–14 Dec. (medal with two clasps). On the outbreak of war he joined the Expeditionary Force with his regt. and was killed while leading his company near Troyon, at the Battle of the Aisne, 20 Sept. 1914; _unm._

=EDWARDS, ERNEST IRVING=, Private, No. 130, 15th Battn. Australian Imperial Force; served in Egypt and at the Dardanelles; killed in action, 3 May, 1915.

=EDWARDS, FRANK THOMAS=, Private, No. 7605, 1st Battn. Coldstream Guards, _s._ of George Silas Edwards, of 342, Long Acre, Nechells, Birmingham; _b._ co. Warwick; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders; killed in action at Ypres, 29 Oct. 1914; _unm._

=EDWARDS, FREDERICK=, Private, No. 1191, 4th Battn. Australian Imperial Force; served in Egypt and at the Dardanelles; killed in action, 10 June, 1915.

=EDWARDS, GEORGE=, A.B. (R.F.R., B 3925), S.S. 1204, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=EDWARDS, GEORGE THOMAS=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch. 16518, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.