EDWARDS, Samuel William
| Service Number: | 301 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ararat, Victoria, Australia, 16 March 1879 |
| Home Town: | Richmond (V), Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Rubber worker |
| Died: | St. Vincents Hospital, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, 27 August 1956, aged 77 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Box Hill General Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Aldgate War Memorial, Unley Town Hall WW1 Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 301, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 301, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne |
Help us honour Samuel William Edwards's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Heathfield High School
Samuel William Edwards was born on the 16th of March in 1879, in Ararat, Victoria. Later in life, he moved to Richmond, and worked as a rubber worker. He was 34 when the war started, and soon after, he enlisted as a soldier.
His family consisted of his parents, William Ellis Edwards, and Jane Mary (Little was her maiden name) Edwards. He was the brother of eight other siblings: Alfred George Edwards, Charles Cooper Ellis Edwards, Emma Frances Edwards (her marriage name was Wright), Gertrude Jane Elizabeth Edwards, Alice Mary Edwards, Frederick Tyrer Edwards, Arthur Little Edwards, and Walter Henry Edwards. He was married to Frances Jane Edwards, and they had a child called George Reginald Edwards.
Edwards signed up almost as soon as news of the war spread, arriving at the sign-up desk in August, less than a month after the war had started. Due to this, he was in the group of the first to enlist at Richmond, and was given the service number 301. He was assigned to the 6th Infantry Battalion, C company, of the 2nd Brigade. He embarked on the ship Hororata on the 19 of October 1914. According to battalion diaries, the ship made a brief stop at Albany in WA, then it started on its journey to Egypt, arriving in December.
The ship was originally set to sail to England for more training for the troops, but seeing as they were overcrowded, and didn’t have enough room, or supplies for the Australian troops, the ship was redirected to Egypt. The training camps were brutal, the troops having to work eight hours a day, for six days a week, doing training drills such as marching, equipment use, discipline, following commands and marksmanship. (Genge 2023)
After 4 months training in Egypt his battalion was part of the ANZAC landing on the 25th of April 1915 as part of the second wave, arriving in the early hours of the morning, Edwards was part of a 2500 man strong attack that established a weak hold on the slopes. Ten days later, his Brigade was transferred to Cape Helles further south, to support British troops to take a village. This proved to be unsuccessful with little ground gained and the loss of many lives. After that, they then returned to ANZAC, and later, in August they were a part of the battle of the Lone Pine. This battle was a diversion to stop reinforcements reaching the Sari Bair, which was the Allied forces last attempt in the Gallipoli campaign. The plan was to take the enemy line, and hold it, and they were successful. Soon after that, Edwards became sick with Diarrhea, which is a symptom of Dysentery. He was diagnosed with that later, and remained in hospital at the island of Mudros (a Greek island being used as a medical base) wuntil the 2nd of September. Edwards was then transferred to the Southern General hospital in Birmingham, England on 19th September 1915 He was lucky to have survived, as fifty of his fellow soldiers had died from this illness while at Gallipoli.
After several months of treatment Edwards recovered and was moved to the Australian Base Depot at Weymouth and was then sent overseas to Mustapha to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force but was again hospitalised, this time with an infection. After a few weeks in the 17th General Hospital in Alexandria he was taken on strength with the Anzac Police. In August he was sent back to the UK for further treatment in hospial with an infection and was discharged back to duty on 8th December 1916. In March 1917 he was sent to France and marched into the Anzac Provost Corps, which were were a group of soldiers who were tasked with maintaining discipline within the camps, and escorting guests and war prisoners alike.
Edwards was promoted to Lance Corporal in March 1917. He remained with the Anzac Provost Corps until he was again hospitalised in May 1918 with an infection. After nearly a month of treatment at the 39th General Hospital in Havre he returned to his unit and reverted to the rank of Private. In August he took a couple of weeks of leave travelling to the UK. He returned on duty on the 14th September 1918 and was detached to the Safe Custody Compound.
Edwards was repatriated back to Australia leaving Suez on 20th October 1918. He arrived in Melbourne 2nd December and was officially discharged from the AIF 31st January 1919.
Edwards passed away in 1956, on the 27th of August. He is currently buried in Box Hill commentary with his wife (died 3rd of October in 1954, aged 79) and son (died 3rd of November in 1929, aged 19).