Mametz Wood

Edward was born in Scarisbrick in 1880, the son of Edward and Catherine (née Dobson) of Bescar Lane. Prior to his military service he was employed as an estate labourer on Martin Mere by the Scarisbrick Trustees. He was said to have been "quiet and unassuming in disposition" and was a regular worshipper at Drummersdale Chapel.

Edward was attached to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in 1916 and was drafted out to France. They were under orders of the 22nd Brigade, 7th Division and the brigade took part in a number of battles during the Somme Offensive of 1916.

At the Battle of Albert the village of Mametz was captured as part of the first breakthrough of the German lines. Mametz Wood will always be associated with the Welsh Fusiliers. It was dense woodland, almost one square mile in area, and occupied by elite German troops with heavy fortifications. In contrast, the British forces were made up of enlisted men that were poorly equipped and inadequately trained. Battle raged with hand-to-hand fighting and included artillery bombardments that left not a single tree standing. The carnage extended over five days and the Welsh Division, of which the Welsh Fusiliers were part, lost four thousand men.

There followed a stalemate of attack and counter-attack. The Battle of Delville Wood had a similar conclusion with the battleground becoming choked with the dead of both sides. These actions had been unmitigated disasters with casualties on both sides exceeding one million