Harri Willis EDWARDS

DE RUVIGNY'S ROLL OF HONOUR 1914-1918 – Part Three

EDWARDS, HARRI WILLIS, Lieut.m 5th (Territorial) Battn. The East Lancashire Regt., eldest s. of the late Rev. Harri Edwards, Clerk in Holy Orders, by his wife Marie, dau. of the late Capt. George Willis, of Aislaby Hall, Whitby; b. Bishopthorpe, near York, 30 May, 1876; educ. Denstone College, co. Stafford; was for 11 years a member on the staff of the Bank of Liverpool at Keighley, during which time he took a keen interest in the Boy Scout movement; joined the 16th West Yorkshire Regt. on the outbreak of war; served with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Egypt from 6th Dec. 1915, and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from April, 1916; obtained a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 5th East Lancashire Regt. in Dec. following and was killed in action near Peronne 28 April 1917. He m.–1st, at the Parish Church, Nelson, co. Lancaster, 7 Oct. 1905, Gertrude Louise, dau. of Richard Bedlingfeld, and had a son, Douglas Bedingfeld Willis, b. 20 March 1907, and–2ndly, at the Priory Church, Bridlington, 12 April 1910, Ada (Old Oxenhope House, near Keighley), dau. of the late Mathew Cranswick, of Reighton.

HISTORY OF THE EAST LANCASHIRE REGIMENT IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 (Littlebury Bros. Ltd. 1936)

1/5th Bn. East Lancashire Regiment

1917
On April 27th two platoons of ‘A’ Company, under Captain Cockshutt, attempted to occupy and consolidate an elongated belt of trees known as Canal Wood [Canal Wood was close to the Hindenburg Line to which the Germans had retired to after the Battles of the Somme in 1916], and this was an occasion of much individual but unavailing gallantry. An unexpected check was occasioned by a party of the enemy who occupied a small quarry at the north-east end of the wood, and these had to be bombed out. Having cleared the wood of Germans, the party, which comprised 3 officers and 98 rank and file, started to dig in and succeeded in constructing a trench to a depth of about four feet. The attacking platoons, however, did not reach their final objective until about 4.30 a.m. [28th April] and after desultory sniping for an hour or so from various directions, a body estimated at two companies attacked and succeeded in driving the Lancashire men on to the road. Here they were heavily enfiladed by machine-gun and rifle fire from the south. One of the party’s Lewis guns was put out of action almost immediately and retirement to our own outpost line became essential. Captain Cockshutt was wounded and both his junior officers, 2nd Lieutenants Walkden and Edwards were killed. [Arthur Chamberlain Walkden and Harri Willis Edwards were both employed by the Bank of Liverpool and perhaps knew each other before joining the army] Eleven other ranks were killed and 30 wounded; 15 men were reported missing. Particular gallantry was shown in this affair by one of our sergeants, who brought several wounded men into our outpost line under heavy fire.

England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966

1928

EDWARDS Harri Willis of Old Oxenhope House Oxenhope Keighley Yorkshire died 28 April 1917 in France Probate Wakefield 1 August to Douglas Gaston Edwards bank manager. Effects £325 11s. 10d.