Edward Ayres - Private - Manchester Regiment – 21st (Service) Battalion (2nd City)

 

Edward Ayres and Margaret Ann Morris
marriage certificate
St. John-juxta-Swansea

Edward Ayres was born in Swansea in 1898, the son of Edward Ayres and Margaret Ann Morris, who had married at St. John-juxta-Swansea in 1892.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the Ayres family were living at 34 Marine Street, Swansea. Edward’s father, also named Edward, was 36 years old and employed as a fish salesman, while his mother, Margaret Ann, was also recorded as 36 years old.

The couple had five young children living at home. Their eldest son, Matthew, was nine years old, followed by William, aged seven, David, five, and Edward, who was just three years old. The youngest member of the household was Ellen, aged ten months.

1911 Census

Ten years later, the 1911 Census recorded the family living at 25 Mariner Street, Swansea. Edward’s father, now aged 46, was employed as a haulier, transporting goods and materials, while his mother, Margaret, was recorded as 39 years old.

By this time, the family had grown considerably, with nine children recorded in the household. Their eldest son, Matthew, aged 19, was employed as a fireman, while William, 17, worked as a shop assistant. David, aged 15, had begun an apprenticeship.

Edward, now aged 13, was still attending school, along with his younger sisters Mary, aged 11, Beatrice, nine, and Ellen, seven. The youngest children were John, aged three, and Marium, who was just four months old.

Growing up in Swansea, Edward would have been familiar with the busy working life of the town, particularly its docks, markets and surrounding industries. His father’s occupations as a fish salesman and later a haulier reflected the importance of trade and transport to the local economy.

With the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Edward was still a teenager. As the conflict continued, he entered military service, joining the Manchester Regiment.

He served as a Private with the 21st (Service) Battalion (2nd City), one of the battalions raised in Manchester during the early months of the war.

The battalion formed part of the 91st Brigade, 7th Division, and served on the Western Front, taking part in several major engagements, including the fighting on the Somme in 1916 and the battles in Flanders during 1917.

By October 1917, the British Army was engaged in the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Passchendaele campaign. The offensive, which had begun in July, was fought under increasingly difficult conditions, with heavy rainfall, deep mud and relentless artillery bombardments making movement across the battlefield extremely hazardous.

The fighting around Ypres was particularly costly, with British and Commonwealth troops attempting to capture heavily defended German positions across the devastated landscape of the Ypres Salient.

It was during this period of intense fighting that Edward lost his life.

Private Edward Ayres was killed in action on 24th October 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres. He was approximately 19 years old.

Although the precise circumstances of his death are not known, his date of death places him among the casualties of the continuing operations in Flanders during the autumn of 1917.

Edward was laid to rest at Perth Cemetery (China Wall), near Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium.

The cemetery was originally established during the First World War and takes its name from a nearby communication trench known as the China Wall. It contains the graves of many British and Commonwealth servicemen who lost their lives during the fighting in the Ypres Salient.

For his parents, Edward and Margaret Ann, and his brothers and sisters back home in Swansea, his death brought the devastating loss of a son and brother who had left his family at such a young age to serve his country.

Edward had been just 13 years old at the time of the 1911 Census, still attending school and living with his large family in Mariner Street. Only six years later, he was serving on the battlefields of Belgium, where his life was tragically cut short.