Wyndham History

Roy William Burdon Edwards (1888-1954)

Item

Placeholder image - Veteran.png

Dublin Core

Type

Title

Roy William Burdon Edwards (1888-1954)

Contributor

Date

1915

Publisher

Wyndham City Libraries

Format

text

Language

eng

World War One Veterans Item Type Metadata

Name

Roy William Burdon Edwards

Birth Date

Birthplace

Service Number

1865

Enlistment Date

Next of Kin

Thomas Edwards
Father

Address at time of Enlistment

Parwan Road,
Bacchus Marsh, Victoria

Occupation

Marital Status

Single

Death Date

Place of Burial

Red Cliffs Cemetery

Biographical Text

No.1865  Roy William Burdon Edwards
Roy William Edwards was born on 1 May 1888 in Myrniong, Victoria to Thomas Edwards and Honora Jane (nee Richards).
He had four brothers:
  • Thomas Blakeston
  • Charles Rupert Leigh
  • William Bertrand
  • Harold Keith 
and three sisters:
  • Norah Eileen 
  • Constance Ruth 
  • Caroline Olga.
Electoral Rolls in 1914 and 1919 had Roy living in Bacchus Marsh as a labourer with Ruth Edwards, Raymond Thomas Edwards, Richard James Edwards, Margaret Edwards, Bridget Edwards, Charles Rupert Leigh Edwards.

War Service
Roy enlisted into the Army at Melbourne, Victoria on 28 July 1915.  He was aged 27 years and two months and he was five feet and seven quarter inches tall.  Roy weighed 11 stone and had a chest measurement of thirty three and a half to thirty seven inches.  His complexion was listed as fresh, with brown eyes and dark hair.  All of this was recorded at the time of his enlistment.

Roy was a labourer in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria when he enlisted in the AIF, 13th Reinforcements, 4th Light Horse Regiment on 28 July 1915, aged 27.  He embarked aboard the HMAT A54 Runic in January 1916 and disembarked in Egypt.  Roy was transferred to the 1st Division Cyclist Battalion.  He disembarked at Marseilles, France at the end of March 1916. In May 1916, he transferred to the 1st ANZAC Cyclist Battalion and shortly afterwards he was detached for traffic duties for a month.

In 1916, while in France, Roy wrote a letter home and part of it was published in the Bacchus Marsh Express, 24 June, 1916, p.3.   The letter described his trip  through France and his experiences.

Roy then transferred to the 12th Field Company Engineers in late December.  He was promoted to Lance Corporal in November 1918 and returned to England in February 1919, embarking for Australia in April aboard the Commonwealth, returning to Australia in June and discharged from the AIF in August 1919.

Post War
In 1924, Roy is found to be living on "a block of land at Redcliffs" according to a letter in his Army records.  Roy married Mavis Olive Scott on 25 November 1929 in Mildura and they had two daughters Maureen Olga and Heather Ann. The 1942 to 1949 Electoral Rolls have Roy and Mavis living in Mildura, at Block 558 Redcliffs, and is listed as a horticulturist.

Medals and Entitlements:
  • Victory Medal - 15 May 1924 
  • British War Medal - 15 May 1924

Bibliography

War records

AIF project
http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/index.html

National Archives of Australia
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/


Ancestry
http://search.ancestry.com.au

From the Family tree Higgs-Iddles-wall OCT 2016 :- information provided the letter from Roy Edwards published in the Bacchus Marsh Express

Medals and Entitlements

British War Medal
Victory Medal

Citation

“Roy William Burdon Edwards (1888-1954),” Wyndham History, accessed September 28, 2023, http://www.wyndhamhistory.net.au/items/show/2184.

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