Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Edward Cooper TREADWELL and Mary Jane DAWSON

EDWARD JABEZ COOPER TREADWELL who died as the result of an aeroplane accident at a military hospital in England on 20th September 1917 was the eldest son of Mr. E. C. Treadwell. He was born in 1896 and was at School from 1909 to 1913. He was a Prefect and in the football teams of 1912 and 1913 and in the athletic team of 1913. He went into business with his father.

From the day war broke out " Treddy," as we all knew him, was keen to enlist. At first, he was prevented by family reasons. In April 1915, however, he obtained his father's consent, but he could not pass the medical test. He was a Lieutenant in the Citizen Forces, and longed to do some service, but on three occasions he failed to pass. However, after being appointed A.D.C. to the State Commandant, he managed to get into the Motor Transport, but after a week in camp the trouble which had held him back developed again. He managed to get a transfer to the Flying Corps, and after training at Laverton he sailed for England.

In August he passed a severe examination at Oxford and went to an aerodrome at Castle Bromich, near Birmingham. There he had lessons in flying, and as he progressed was moved to different
aerodromes to successively learn the higher rudiments. The month he was killed he went up solo, lost his bearings, and knowing his petrol was fast giving out, picked a spot and made a successful landing in a field in which there were horses, cattle and sheep. Killed one of the latter, but otherwise no damage was done.

Lawrence Benjamin (3987), his old School mate, who was his officer at Market Drayton, writes thus : "Ted and I were at School together and were comrades in camp, afterwards as Citizen Force officers. We separated then, and you can imagine our delight in coming together at this aerodrome. On the fatal morning I was showing him how to run up the engine of a machine I was going to test, called a
Sopwith Bomber. He was keen to see it all from the pilot's seat and stood on the wings to watch it done. I tested the engine, which was satisfactory, then `throttled down' and asked him to get off it, as I was going to test it in the air. He got to the ground, seemed to stumble, and apparently did not hear the mechanics calling out to him, for he walked straight into the revolving propeller.

There is one blessing that he suffered no pain, and died almost immediately. He died the death he would have wished to die, namely, as a soldier on active service. We buried him the next day at a pretty little country cemetery near the hospital at Prees Heath,
Wychbury, with full military honours."