Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Edward Victor Brewster was born on the 29th of October 1890 in the South Australian town of Quorn located in the Flinders Rangers. Edward was born into a family with roots that can be traced back to some of the pioneering families of Quorn. Born the second son of Alice and Abraham Brewster he had an older brother, Abraham and two younger sisters named Florence and Caroline. His father owned roughly 400 acres of farming land which would have most likely been some cereal crops like wheat. Edward also worked as a farmer prior to enlistment. Edward likely attended a local school in Quorn and was raised as a Methodist.

Edward enrolled into the AIF (Australian Infantry Force) on the 7th of February 1916, at twenty-six years of age. He was single at this time, stood at a height of five feet and six inches tall, had hazel eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.

After enlistment Edward was taken into the 17th reinforcement of the 9th light horse regiment and given his service number 2449. Light horse regiments had many roles during WW1; they acted as both a cavalry mounted infantry force and fought dismounted mainly using their horses as transport. Men like Edward from rural areas were more likely to be selected for horse regiments, this is because horses were still used a significant amount for both transport and farming at that time and their increased experience was very useful for the AIF since these men required less training.

On the 8th of May close to three months after enlistment Edward sailed out of Melbourne upon the HMAT Kabinga a troopship carrier. His voyage took around two months and on the 17th of July 1916 he arrived in Port Said, Egypt where he would receive more training.

Edward was stationed in the Middle East during the Egyptian and Palestinian campaigns. The battle of Beersheba fought on the 31st of October 1917 was an offensive move by the ANZAC light horsemen, where they charged the Turkish trenches under heavy fire crossing the open desert. This was to capture a large town with the essential recourse of water. The battles of Gaza from March to November 1917 consisted of three battles, the first two were failures on the capture of Gaza due to the cities exceptionally strong defences, however the last battle made a huge difference in the war as it resulted in the retreat of ottoman forces from Palestine.

The battles weren’t the only ordeals Edward had to face during his service. Being stationed in the desert created many challenges, finding water was extremely difficult and while travelling across the massive distances of middle eastern deserts men had to face extreme temperatures both hot and cold and slept either in the open or very light tents granting minimal protection.

Edward spent much time in the hospital during his service. There were many minor hospitalizations during his service but also some major conditions.

From the 11th to 6th of June 1917, Edward was treated for abdominal colic, eventually admitted to the 14th General Hospital. This is the name used to describe waves of intense abdominal pain. Further investigations led to a diagnosis of Appendicitis requiring surgery. He was discharged and marched in to the 3rd Light Horse Regiment. He was transferred to the 9th Light Horse Regiment 25th August 1917.

From the 9th December Edward was ill with diarrhoea and was treated at various facilities ending up in the 14th General Hospital again from 24th November until 1st December.

Edward was admitted to a hospital within Moascar from the 9th to the 13th of October 1918 with synovitis in his knee. Synovitis is inflammation of the joint in the knee and causes swelling, pain and stiffness. This was caused by twisting his knee on sand during a training drill. Luckily, he was able to recover quite quickly and had no further complications.

Edward served from 1916 until the very end of the war in 1919 and was discharged on the 10th of August. Edward was given no disabilities or scars from his time in the war and for his service was rewarded an iconic medal trio, the star medal, British war medal and British victory medal (image on left). The medals are a sign of appreciation for his commitment to his country and are items

Shortly after his return to Australia, at the age of 29, Edward married Linda Liggett Brewster (born Marrett) aged 25, on the 27th of August 1919. Edward lived for another portion of his life in Quorn working on the family farm. Linda and Edward had two girls while still living in Quorn named, Joan born 1920, and Betty born 1923. At some stage the Brewster family moved to Adelaide where they lived in Walkerville North.

Edward passed away at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on the 19th of March 1969 at the age of 79 years. He is commemorated with a plaque at Centennial Park Cemetery.

Bibliography

9th Light Horse Regiment 2014, Vwma.org.au.

14th Australian General Hospital - Our Contribution 2024, Birtwistlewiki.com.au, viewed 20 March 2025, <https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/14th_Australian_General_Hospital>.

Australian Light Horse 2020, Wikipedia.

British First World War Service Medals n.d., Imperial War Museums, viewed 19 March 2025, <https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-world-war-service-medals>.

corporateName =Department of Veterans’ Affairs; address=21 Genge St, CC 2021, Sinai and Palestine Campaign 28 January 1915 to 31 October 1918 | Anzac Portal, anzacportal.dva.gov.au, viewed 20 March 2025, <https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/where-australians-served/sinai-and-palestine>.

Details 2024, Adfa.edu.au, viewed 10 March 2025, <https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=31948>.

‘Edward Victor Brewster’ 2025, Awm.gov.au, viewed 10 March 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2163896>.

FamilySearch.org 2015, Familysearch.org, viewed 10 March 2025, <https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/M5YZ-2DD/abraham-ernest-wilfred-brewster