Edwin John Leslie Clowes – Royal Naval Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve

Telegraphist Edwin John Leslie Clowes – Royal Naval Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve

Early Life and Family Background

Edwin John Leslie Clowes was born in 1916 in Swansea, the son of Edwin Stanley Clowes and Florence Frost, who married in 1913 in Swansea.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records the family living at Boarding House, Victoria Road, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, where Edwin Stanley, aged 36 and born in Lancashire, worked as an engine fitter and turner for D.O.R. Engineers. His wife Florence, aged 34 and born in Morriston, undertook household duties. Their children were Edwin John Leslie (4), Florence Hilda (3), and Bessie Ethel Lovell (6 months).

1939 Register

Return to Swansea

Following Edwin Stanley’s death in 1934, Swansea, the family returned to the city. The 1939 Register shows them residing at 3 Goviers Terrace, where Florence was a shopkeeper (general stores), Edwin was employed as an electrician at a road transport garage, and Bessie worked as a general shop assistant. In 1944, Edwin married Essie M. Spraggon, establishing his own household shortly before his final period of wartime service.

Service with the Royal Naval Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve

Edwin served as a Telegraphist with the Royal Naval Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve, a specialised communications branch responsible for wireless telegraphy, signalling, and encrypted naval communication. His civilian background as an electrician made him an ideal recruit for this technically demanding role. Wireless reservists were trained in high‑speed Morse, naval signalling protocols, radio maintenance, and emergency communication procedures. Once deployed, telegraphists maintained constant wireless watch aboard ship, relaying Admiralty orders, reporting convoy movements, and ensuring communication between vessels and command centres.

H.M.S. Express

H.M.S. Express

Edwin was assigned to H.M.S. Express, a Royal Navy E‑class destroyer launched in 1934. These destroyers were fast, agile, and heavily armed vessels designed for escort duties, anti‑submarine warfare, and fleet screening, and Express served continuously throughout the Second World War in the North Sea, the English Channel, and along the Atlantic convoy routes. Capable of speeds exceeding 35 knots and equipped with torpedo tubes, naval guns, depth charges, and sonar, she also carried a fully staffed wireless office essential for fleet communication. In August 1940, Express suffered heavy damage after striking a mine off the French coast, resulting in significant casualties, but she was repaired and returned to service, continuing her demanding escort and patrol duties. Telegraphists like Edwin were central to the ship’s functioning, maintaining communication with escort vessels, relaying Admiralty orders, and ensuring the destroyer remained connected to the wider naval command structure. Their work was quiet, technical, and often carried out under immense pressure, especially during enemy attacks or convoy emergencies.

Death and Burial

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Edwin John Leslie Clowes
St. Peter's Church, Cockett
credit - findagrave

According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, Edwin John Leslie Clowes died on 10 March 1945 at E.M.S. Hospital, Killearn, Glasgow. His body was brought home to Swansea and laid to rest at St Peters, where he is remembered among the parish’s wartime dead.