CAWE, Edward Sydney
| Service Number: | 2342 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 July 1915, 37th Company of senior cadets |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Surry Hills, New South Wales Australia, 21 November 1899 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway porter signalman |
| Died: | Hit By Shell, Pozieres, France, 26 July 1916, aged 16 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane Albert Street Uniting Church Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Unanderra Public School Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2342, 20th Infantry Battalion, 37th Company of senior cadets | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2342, 20th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2342, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Honour Board
Edward Sydney CAWE (Service Number 2342) was born on 21 November 1899 in Surry Hills. In October 1914, before he was 15-years-old, he commenced work as a junior porter in the Traffic Branch of the Railways in the Sydney District, which included the Illawarra. Edward was working at Unanderra and probably knew Keith Spinks (2473) who was working for the NSW Railways as a porter at Figtree. They certainly enlisted on the same day, served in the same unit and travelled on the same ship to Europe.
On 24 July 1915, well before his 16th birthday Edward was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
Edward became missing, believed killed in action, on 26 July 1916. He was only 16 years and 8 months of age. Reports suggest that he was killed by shelling in the very early hours of the morning in the first charge at Poziéres. His mate Keith Spinks was still with him and died in the same action. According to newspaper reports (Illawarra Mercury 6 Oct.1916 P2) his mate also died as a result of shelling.
There is clearly some deception on Edward’s part with regard to his age. However, the Australian War Memorial records do give his age at the date of his death as 16 years. Reports offered by his mates to the official enquiry into his fate have the insight that he was known to be not yet 17 but was big for his age.
Submitted 23 May 2023 by John Oakes
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Edward Sydney CAWE (Service Number 2342) was born on 21 November 1899 in Surry Hills. In October 1914, before he was 15-years-old, he commenced work as a junior porter in the Traffic Branch of the Railways in the Sydney District, which included the Illawarra. Edward was working at Unanderra and probably knew Keith Spinks (2473) who was working for the NSW Railways as a porter at Figtree. They certainly enlisted on the same day, served in the same unit and travelled on the same ship to Europe.
On 24 July 1915, well before his 16th birthday Cawe was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
Edward became missing believed killed in action on 26 July 1916 at the age of just 16 years and 8 months. Reports suggest that he was killed by shelling in the very early hours of the morning in the first charge at Poziéres. His mate Keith Spinks was still with him and died in the same action. According to newspaper reports (Illawarra Mercury 6 Oct.1916 P2) Keith was also killed as a result of shelling.
Although there is clearly some deception on Cawe’s part with regard to his age, the Australian War Memorial records do give his age at the date of his death as 16 years. Reports offered by his mates to the official enquiry into his fate have the insight that he was known to be not yet 17 but was big for his age.
Submitted 23 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
AWM Summary
Private Edward Sydney Cawe (2342, 20th Battalion), from Unanderra, NSW, had been a railway porter. He was killed in action at Pozières, France, on 26 July 1916, one year to the day after his enlistment. Edward's grave could not be found after the war, so he is commemorated on the Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. Edward's aunt and uncle (his adoptive parents) later wrote that he was 16 years old at the time of his death.
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Edward Sydney CAWE (Service Number 2342) was born on 21st November 1899 in Surry Hills. In October 1914, before he was 15-years-old, he commenced work as a junior porter in the Traffic Branch of the Railways in the Sydney District, which included the Illawarra. Edward was working at Unanderra. Therefore, he probably knew Keith Spinks (2473) who was working for the NSW Railways as a porter at Figtree. They enlisted on the same day, served in the same unit and travelled on the same ship to Europe.
On 24th July 1915, well before his 16th birthday, Cawe was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces. He embarked from Australia through Sydney on HMAT ‘Argyllshire’ on 30th September 1915 (according to documents in the National Archives of Australia). He joined the 20th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt during January 1916.He travelled via Alexandria and Marseilles to France.
He became missing believed killed in action on 26th July 1916.He was only 16 years and 8 months of age. Reports suggest that he was killed by shelling in the very early hours of the morning during the first charge at Poziéres. His mate Keith Spinks was still with him and died in the same action. According to newspaper reports (Illawarra Mercury 6th Oct.1916 P2) his mate also died as a result of shelling.
Although Edward falsified his age to join the army, the Australian War Memorial records do give his age at the date of his death as 16 years. Reports offered by his mates to the official enquiry into his fate reveal that he was known to be younger than 17. However, he was big for his age.
Although he was buried on the Poziéres battlefield by Rev W H Dexter (chaplain), the location of the grave has been lost. Therefore, he has no known grave. His name is recorded on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France. Keith Spinks’ name is on the same memorial.
The names of both young men are also shown on the Honour Roll at St Michael’s Cathedral, Wollongong.
Note that the Australian War Memorial gives a different ship and date for embarkation from Australia. The facts here presented are derived from original documents in the National Archives of Australia.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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