Name
Edward Waller
1898
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
26/09/1917
19
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
G/39792
The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
11th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
TYNE COT MEMORIAL
Panel 14 to 17 and 162 to 162A.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
N/A
UK & Other Memorials
Berkhamsted Town Memorial, St Peter's Church Memorial, Berkhamsted, Not on the Tring memorials, Not on the Watford memorials
Pre War
Edward Waller was born in 1898 in Tring, Herts, the son of John and Esther Waller (nee Bligh) and was baptised on 15 Sep 1898 at the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Tring.
His father died in 1899, aged 31 and is buried in Tring Cemetery.
On the 1901 Census Edward was living at 19 Wingrave Road, Tring, with his widowed mother, Joseph (born 1899), Alfred (born 1890), Agnes (born 1892), Gerty (born 1896) John (born 1898) and Edward.
His mother remarried in 1902 in the Berkhamsted district to John Henry Clarke, but sadly he died in 1905 aged 32. She married for the third time in 1906 in the Berkhamsted district to James Chilton.
On the 1911 Census, Edward was aged 12 and a scholar and was living at Tutts Cottages, George Street, Sunnyside, Berkhamsted, with his mother, step-father, stepchildren; Joseph, Alfred, Agnes, Gerty, Edward, Conrad (born 1901), William (born 1904) and Nora Chilton (born 1910).
His mother later lived at 1 Kitsbury Road, Berkhamsted.
Wartime Service
No Service Record was found for Edward who enlisted in Berkhamsted, Herts, and initially served with the Bedfordshire Regiment under service. no. 25279, later transferring to the 11th (Service) Battalion, (Lambeth), The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment.
This battalion was formed in Jun 1915 and went to France in 123 Brigade, 41 Division in May 1916 to take part in the Battles of the Somme at Flers-Courcelette (15-22 Sep 1916) and Le Transloy (1-18 Oct 1916). In the 1917 the Division moved to Ypres and took part in The Battle of Messine (7-14 Jun) and the Battle of 3rd Ypres (Passchendaele) at Pilkem (31 Jul- 2 Aug) and Menin Road (2-25 Sep). Edward was presumed dead on or after 26 September 1917. He has no known grave and his name is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
Additional Information
His mother received a war gratuity of £7 10s and pay owing of £3 0s 9d. She also received a pension of 3s 6d a week, later rising to 5s a week.
His stepfather James Chilton served with the Bedfordshire Regiment (reg. no. 20545) and although severely wounded in April 1917, survived the war.
N.B. The name Edward Waller is listed on the Berkhamsted Memorial outside St Peter's Church, however there are two Edward Wallers with connections to Berkhamsted: Pvt Edward Waller of the Royal Defence Corps (died 1920) and Pvt Edward Waller of the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment. (died 1917). The inscription on the memorial inside St Peter's Church, which shows the regiment, indicates that the soldier named on the Berkhamsted Memorial is the Edward Waller who served with the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer, Neil Cooper
Jonty Wild, Sue Carter (Research) and Watford Museum (ROH online via www.ourwatfordhistory.org.uk)
