Edwin Anthony Ball – Australian Pioneers, 2nd Battalion
Private Edwin Anthony Ball – Australian Pioneers, 2nd Battalion
Birth and Family Background
Edwin Anthony Ball was born in 1881, the son
of Edwin Ball and Cecily Grace Sabine, who were married in 1871
at St. Saviour’s Church, Southwark, London.
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| 1881 Census |
The 1881 Census records the family living at 26 Montepelier Terrace, Swansea. Edwin’s father, Edwin Ball, aged 32, was born in Southwark and worked as a Steel Works Agent. His mother Cecilia Ball, aged 33, was born in London. Their children present were Vincent J. (6), Marcy C. (3), Winifred C. (2), and the infant Edwin A. (two months). A servant, Emma Hewitt (21), also lived in the household.
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| 1891 Census |
By 1891, the family were still at 26 Montepelier Terrace. Edwin’s father, now 42, had become a Mineral and Metal Merchant, running his own business. His wife Cecilia was 43. Their children listed were Mary C. (13), Winifred M. (12), Edwin A. (10), John W. (6), and Cecilia A. (3). The family also employed a Swansea-born servant, Mary A. Corde (33).
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| 1901 Census |
The 1901 Census records 20-year-old Edwin living away from home as a boarder at 9 Victoria Crescent, Newport, in the house of Robert Buxton. His occupation was listed as Sailor.
Life in Australia and Enlistment
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| Attestation Papers |
Sometime after 1901, Edwin emigrated to Australia. His Attestation Papers (September 1916) list his residence as 65 Park Street, South Yarra, Victoria. At enlistment in Melbourne, he was working as a gardener. His next of kin was his mother, Cecilia Ball, then living at 47 Oaklands Road, Mumbles, following the death of her husband in 1906.
His service record described him as 34 years old, 5
ft 3 in, with hazel eyes and brown hair.
2nd Australian Pioneer Battalion
Edwin served with the 2nd Australian Pioneer
Battalion, one of four pioneer units formed within the Australian
Imperial Force. Pioneers were hybrid troops—trained as infantry but
primarily employed on engineering and labour-intensive tasks essential to
front-line operations. Their duties included constructing and repairing trenches,
dugouts, and communication lines, reinforcing barbed-wire
defences, laying duckboards and timber structures, and maintaining roads
and supply routes under fire. Working close to the front exposed them to shellfire,
mines, and snipers, and they could be deployed as infantry when
needed.
Formed in March 1916, the battalion served with the 2nd
Australian Division in major Western Front operations including Pozières,
Mouquet Farm, Bullecourt, Messines, the Third Battle of
Ypres (Passchendaele), the German Spring Offensive, and the Hundred
Days Offensive. When Edwin was wounded, the unit was operating in Flanders,
notorious for waterlogged trenches, deep mud, buried
explosives, and continual shelling—conditions wholly consistent with
the mine-shell wound he suffered.
Wounding, Death, and Burial
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| No. 3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital |
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| South Wales Daily Post |
Despite receiving specialist treatment, Private Edwin
Anthony Ball died of his wounds on 12th January 1918. His death
was reported in the South Wales Daily Post on 14th January
1918.
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| Edwin Anthony Ball Australian War Memorial, Canberra credit - findagrave |
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| Edwin Anthony Ball Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey credit - findagrave |
He was laid to rest in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, one of the principal Commonwealth war cemeteries in the United Kingdom, and his name is also commemorated on the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, honouring his service and sacrifice.
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