This man is a candidate for addition to Keighley's Supplementary Volume under the proposal to add further names in 2024, the centenary of the original roll of honour.
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Supported by the National Lottery's Heritage Fund, our project intends to submit about 120 names for peer review to add them to the book which is kept at Keighley Library. The unveiling of the book with it's new names is planned for November 2024, 100 years after the unveiling of the original war memorial.
Second Lieutenant. 1st/5th Bn, East Lancashire Regiment. Previously: Sergeant, 16th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (First Bradford Pals.) Service number 16/85.
Second Lieutenant Harri Willis Edwards
Early life:
Harri was born on 30th May 1876 and his birth was registered in York. His parents were Harri (aged 28) and Maria Edwards née Willis (aged 27.) He was baptised on 25th June that year at Bishopthorpe and his father Harri was a clerk in holy orders.
In the 1881 census he was aged four and living at 40, Carr Road, Nelson-in-Marsden with his parents and his younger brother Douglas aged two. His father was the vicar of the parish of St. Mary's Church. They also had two servants, Ellen Hoyle and Louisa Massey.
By the time of the 1891 census Harri was aged 14 and at school. He was living at St. Mary's Vicarage with his parents and his father was vicar of Nelson. Also living there were his brother Douglas, aged 12; brother Basil, aged 8, sister Hilda Maria aged 7. They had three servants Ellen Hoyle, Maggie Nixon Smithson and Mary Agnes Costello. Also, visiting on the night of the census were two teachers, May and Emma Heylin and Bankers clerk Edward Clayton.
Harri's father died in 1900, leaving Maria with £1145 5s. in probate.
In 1901 Edward and Douglas were boarding at 68, Carr Road, Nelson with Sarah Watson and Pathamea Clayton (an elementary school teacher) Both Harri (aged 24) and Douglas (aged 22) were bank clerks. Harri is believed to have served for twelve years with the Burnley Volunteers.
Harri married Gertrude Louise Bedingfield at Skipton in the first quarter of 1905. They had a son, Douglas who was born on 20th March 1907.
A year later, Gertrude died on 26th March 1908 aged 28 and her death was registered at Skipton. She was buried at St. Andrew Churchyard in Kildwick on 31st March.
Harri remarried in 1910, to Ada Cranswick at Bridlington and their marriage was registered there in the second quarter of the year.
They were later living at Manor Hill in Sutton and Harri was a bank clerk, working for about eleven years at the Keighley Branch of the Bank of Liverpool, which was on North Street. He also worked at the Cross Hills Branch for a while.
[Note: The Bank of Liverpool acquired Martin's Bank in 1918, becoming The Bank of Liverpool and Martins Ltd., then this was bought by Barclays Bank in 1969. Harri was working for eleven years in the building which is now Barclays Bank in Keighley]
War service:
Shortly after the outbreak of war, Harri immediately tried to join up but struggled because of his age, until he was accepted for the 16th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (First Bradford Pals.) The battalion had been formed and recruiting began at Bradford Mechanics Institute on 8th September 1914. Harri's service number was 16/85 and at the time he would have been about 38 years old. He rose to the rank of sergeant. The First Battalion Bradford Pals were mobilised and they sailed from Liverpool and arrived in Egypt on 21st December 1915.
Harri was discharged to a commission with the East Lancashire Regiment on 18th December 1916 and following his officer training, he served with the 1/5th Battalion of the East Lancs Regiment.
London Gazette dated 29th December 1916, page 64:
TERRITORIAL FORCE. INFANTRY.
The undermentioned cadets to be Second Lieutenants on Probation, 19th Dec 1916. :-
East Lancashire Regiment. Harri Willis Edwards. Leslie Emerson Walker.
Trench Map 57C SE showing Canal Wood at the extreme left side.
1/5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment war diary extract for April 1917:
IN THE FIELD. 26th April. 1.20 am:
Battalion HQ and B & D Companies returned to PEIZIERE to prepare to relieve 1/10 Manchester Regiment in LEFT SECTOR. 126th Infantry Brigade orders no's 9 & 10 received.
Battalion paraded for march to relieve 1/10 Manchester Regiment at 10.45 pm. Marched by companies and on arrival at Battalion Headquarters (14 n allows? X.26.a.5.0) guides from 10th Manchesters conducted them to various posts. The Northern Battalion boundary in a line X.25.a.1.7. - X.20.a.8.0. - X.15.d.9.7. and Southern boundary from Level Crossing at EPEHY through X.28 central - X.24 central.
27th April:
Relief reported complete (by runner) at 5.7 am.
Enemy shelled X Roads at X.17.c.1.1 between 4 & 5 am.
Patrol sent to CANAL WOOD. Enemy machine gun fired on our posts in X.17.c.
Two platoons of A Company under Captain E. M. Cockshott and Second Lieutenant Edwards & Second Lieutenant A. C. Walkden ordered to take up and dig position in CANAL WOOD. 126 Brigade Order no. 11 received.
28th April. 4.30 am:
Having cleared the wood, Captain Cockshott's party commenced digging in under sniper's fire. Attacked from the right, they were driven on to the road to left of wood and enfiladed by a machine gun. They withdrew to outpost line.
Casualties reported. Two officers (Second Lieutenant Walkden and Second Lieutenant Edwards) killed, Captain Cockshott wounded. Other ranks, 9 killed, 30 wounded, 15 missing, 2 believed killed.
8.30 pm:
Second Lieutenant Kay & 22 men patrolled CANAL WOOD. Party returned at 11 pm and reported that the enemy had established a post 50 metres West of the WOOD. The party brought in six bodies. 126 Brigade Order no. 12 received.
Map reference 57c NE 1/20000. (Canal Wood is at the bottom right corner of this map.)
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Monday 8th May, 1917, page 8:
Lieutenant Harri Willis Edwards, East Lancashire Regiment, who resided at Old Oxenhope House, Oxenhope, near keighley, has been killed in action: He was 40 years of age, and his father was the Vicar of nelson. He was for eleven years on the staff of the Bank of Liverpool at Keighley, and for some time was in charge of the Cross Hill (near Keighley) branch. While he was there, he took a keen interest in the boy scout movement, and was a District Commissioner. He leaves a widow and child.
De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour published an abridged account of his life:
EDWARDS, HARRI WILLIS,
Lieutenant, 5th (Territorial) Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment., eldest son of the late Reverend Harri Edwards, Clerk in Holy Orders, by his wife, Maries, daughter of the late Captain George Willis, of Aislaby Hall, Whitby; b. Bishopthorpe, near York, 30 May 1876; educated Denstone College, county Stafford; was for eleven years a member on the staff of the Bank of Liverpool at Keighley, during which time he took a keen interest in the Boy Scout movement; joined the 16th West Yorkshire Regiment on the outbreak of war; served with the Egypt Expeditionary Force in Egypt from 6th December 1915, and with the Expeditionary Force in France an Flanders from April, 1916; obtained a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th East Lancashire Regiment in December following, and was killed in action near Peronne 28th April, 1917.
He married (1st) at the Parish Church at Nelson, County Lancaster, 7th October 1905, Gertrude Louise, daughter of Richard Bedingfield, and had a son, Douglas Bedingfield Willis, born 20th March 1907, and (2nd) at the Priory Church, Bridlington, 12th April 1910, Ada (Old Oxenhope House, near Keighley, daughter of the late Matthew Cranswick, of Reighton.
Remembrance:
Harri's body along with that of Second Lieutenant Arthur Chamberlain Walkden, does not appear to have been recovered after they were killed in action. They have no known grave and are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing in the Somme region of France.
Harri is commemorated on the following war memorials:
The 'Service Roll of Martins Bank'.
The Bank of Liverpool and Martin's Bank Roll of Honour for staff who served in the Great War: This is a framed and glazed memorial and he is on the Craven list.
The Bank of Liverpool & Martins Limited: This is a large bronze tablet (the Skipton and other branch memorials are lost, but one identical to them exists at Barclays Bank, Water St., Liverpool).
Harri is also named on the Oxenhope war memorial. His wife Ada and son Douglas were living at Oxenhope Old Hall after the war.
His name was one of those added to the Sutton in Craven War memorial, on a new panel which was created in 2014.
Post war:
Harri was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal which were sent to his widow Ada Greenwood (who had remarried) after an application on behalf of her stepson Douglas, dated 18th February 1920. By this time they had moved to The Old Hall at Oxenhope. She would also have received any of his personal effects plus a memorial plaque and scroll bearing his name.
The Army Compassionate List entry for Second Lieutenant Harri Willis Edwards shows that Ada received several annual payments of behalf of her stepson Douglas, amounting to £33 6s 8d on 5th September 1917; £36 18s 6d on 22nd September 1918; £40 on 17th May 1919 and £40 plus a bonus of £8 paid on 20th May 1920. No other payments are listed in this record, but it states that they were to cease on 20th March 1925, which would have been Douglas' 18th Birthday.
Ada also received several payments from Harri's Army account, these were: £4 0s 7d on 3rd August 1917; £3 14s 5d on 24th August 1917; £45 5s 4d on 13th October 1917 and £15 10s 0d on 13th November 1919.
She was 'Wid. & Legatee' in his will, named as Mrs. Ada Edwards. This was because she had remarried but was still the legal guardian of her stepson Douglas., so some of the will provision may have been for him.
A Pension card states 'Motherless child.' and almost certainly refers to Douglas, although there are no other details.
The Wakefield probate record which wasn't completed until 1st August 1928, shows that Harri's brother Douglas Gaston Edwards (a bank manager) received the sum of Harri's estate amounting to £325 11s. 10d.
In the 1921 census Douglas was recorded at Denstone College in Staffordshire aged 14 years and 4 months (his father had also attended this college.)
On 21st April 1931, Douglas married Margaret Irene Hoole of Colne at St. John's Parish Church in Hampstead, Camden.
In the 1939 Register, Margaret and Douglas were living at Glen Cottage in Bingley. He was a bank clerk and she was on home duties unpaid. There is a redacted entry for their address which may have been for a child still living.
There is an entry of death for an Ada E. C. Cranswick registered at Scarborough in the first quarter of 1966. Ada originally came from Bridlington and may have returned to live near her place of birth in her later years. The record shows she was born in 1881 and that she was 85 years old at death.
A 1979 death entry for Douglas Bedingfield W. Edwards shows his death was recorded in the second quarter of the year at Staincliffe, North Yorkshire.
Information sources:
North Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1937
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
York, Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920
1881 England Census
1891 England Census
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
1901 England Census
North Yorkshire, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995
1911 England Census
British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
World War I Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919
World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
British Armed Forces, First World War Disability & Retirement Payments For Officers & Nurses. Piece description: Army compassionate list, E-K.
London Gazette
The National Library of Scotland online mapping service: Map reference 62c NE 1/20000.
WO-95/2657/1 war diary for East Lancashire 1/5th Battalion
De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour for the Great War
Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929
Craven's Part in the Great War
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
Craven Herald
Keighley News archives at Keighley Library
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer
Gro War Death Army Officers Indices (1914 To 1921)
The National Archives
1921 Census Of England & Wales
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938
1939 England and Wales Register
British Newspaper Archive (accessed via Find My Past)
