Edward Harold David - Cheshire Regiment, 1st Battalion

Second Lieutenant Edward Harold David - Cheshire Regiment, 1^st Battalion

Birth and Family Background

Edward Harold David was born in 1886 in Swansea. He was the son of Walter Philip David and Elvria Evans.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the family were residing at 19 Bryn Crescent, Swansea. The household was recorded largely by initials. Walter Philip David (40) was employed as a Coal Merchant, and his Newport-born wife Elvria (39) managed the home. Their children were listed as W. H. (10), G. L. (9), L. M. (8), E. H. (7), E. H. (5), and E. S. (4). Two domestic servants, E. A. Jones (20) and M. J. Atkins (26), were also present.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 30 Brynmor Crescent, Swansea. Walter Philip (50) was described as a Colliery Agent, and Elvria was 49. Their children included Walter K. (20), a clerk in a colliery office; Lilian M. (18); Elvin K. (17); Edward H. (15); Edgar S. (14); James S. (9); and Winifred M. (7). A servant, Sarah Jane Bowen (18), was also employed by the family.

1911 Census

In the 1911 Census, the family were residing at 13 Pantygwyn Road, Swansea. Walter Philip (60) continued as a Colliery Agent, and Elvria (59) remained at home. The children then present were Elvira Kathleen (27), and Edward Harold (25) and James Stanley (19), both of whom were employed as Colliery Clerks.

Military Service and Death

Edward was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Cheshire Regiment, 1^st Battalion.

On 5^th November 1918, during the final phase of the Hundred Days Offensive, the battalion was advancing eastwards through the Nord region of France as German forces retreated toward the Belgian frontier. Although the Armistice was only days away, the fighting remained intense. The 1st Cheshires were engaged in clearing villages, overcoming machine-gun positions, and advancing under artillery support against determined German rearguards. Casualties continued to occur from machine-gun fire, artillery barrages, and sniper action as British forces pressed forward. It was during these closing operations near Fontaine-au-Bois that Edward was killed in action, only six days before the Armistice brought the war to an end.

Burial

Edward Harold David 
Cross Roads Cemetery Extension,
Fontaine-au-Bois, Nord, France
credit - findagrave

Second Lieutenant Edward Harold David is buried at Cross Roads Cemetery Extension, Fontaine-au-Bois, Nord, France, a cemetery closely associated with the heavy fighting of early November 1918