S32849
FOSDIKE, Edward Llewellyn
| Service Number: | 2870 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 June 1915, at Keswick |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, March 1897 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Compositor/printer |
| Died: | 1981, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Streaky Bay War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2870, 10th Infantry Battalion, at Keswick | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2870, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2870, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Adelaide | |
| 22 Jun 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2870, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
| 10 Sep 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2870, 10th Infantry Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days" | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Corporal, 2870, 10th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Edward was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, 11 miles from the town of Framlingham, England. He was the eldest son of Mr. & Mrs. E.A. Fosdike. Life before the war for Edward saw him as an 18-year-old boy who had barely stepped foot in the world of adulthood. No wife, no children. Edward had a job as an apprentice printer. Edward was a man of faith which is shown through his next of kin and will, which mentioned St John’s Church Woodbridge and his mum and dad. This showed he had a good relationship with his parents, and they were important to him as well as it revealing his religious identity. Edward had a clean slate.
Edward’s war Journey commenced on June 9, 1915, when he signed up for the 10th Infantry Battalion. He was one of many privates in the battalion. 2 months later they were aboard the HMS Prince of Wales their first stop, Albany Western Australia. They then proceeded to Egypt where they would be trained in preparation of the coming wars they were about to fight in. Edward reached Mudros on 25 November 1915 but it is unclear whether he ever fought on Gallipoli.
The 10th battalion returned to Egypt preparing to then to set sail for France and the Western front in March. Edward suffered his first of many injuries on the 22/6/16. Edward was fighting on the frontline in France where he was wounded in action. He rejoined the battalion a month later, on the 22/7/16 but he returned to the hospital a few days later because of sickness. He rejoined the Battalion on the 21/9/16 missing much of the battle of Pozieres.
Edward stayed with his battalion through the remainder of 1916, all of 1917 and the first half of 1918, excepting two periods of leave. That meant he fought at Bullecourt and throughout the Third Ypres campaign.
The conditions of the Western front were as bad, if not worse than Gallipoli. The filthy conditions, the constant noise, cramped spaces, disease, stench, lack of sleep & rest, lack of water and death amongst soldiers explains why many soldiers suffered from mental health issues during, and after the war. A passage from the battalion unit diary summarized how awful the conditions were. It stated: “whole teams of wagons were killed, to be dragged out of the way and the vehicle pushed into the mud, to allow the living to pass. Horses, dead and mangled, lay many to the yard in places along a track of three or four miles.” This provides an image of the grueling conditions.
On 30 July 1918 Edward was wounded again, this time in the left hand. He rejoined his unit on 12 September and was wounded for the third time on 20 September, this time in the left arm. He saw no action after that, but remained in England throughout 1919.
Life after the war saw Edward settling down, getting married, and starting a new life in Jamestown, South Australia. Edward pursued a career as a compositor stemming from his career as a printer before the war. At 34 years, 2 months old, Edward rejoined the army on the 6/4/1932. He served for a three-year period which ended a few years before the beginning of World War ll. He died in 1981 and was buried at Centennial Park Cemetery. Edward Llewellyn Fosdike died a good man who did his country proud.