TOPIC:

A sad little story from the records.
Edward John INNOCENT a 21 year old bank clerk, travelled up from his parents home in Brixton, London to Bedford where on 30th December 1899 he was amongst the first intake of volunteers into the 28th (Bedfordshire) Company of the 4th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, ‘Compton's Horse’, as Private 51. Later when the 28th’s records were collated with the general I.Y. records he became Trooper 14936.

Discharge at his own request on 27th October 1900. He hd earned The Queen’s South Africa Medal with Cape Colony & Orange Free State clasps

Edward married Lydia EYRE in the summer of 1909 at St. Pancras, London.
They had no children.

He enlisted as Private later Lance Corporal 18847 Royal Regiment of Cavalry on the 23rd December 1915. Later commissioned Lieutenant Royal West Kent Regiment
1915 Star, Allied Victory Medal, British War Medal.

37 year old Edward was killed in action on 3rd July 1916, apparently in the course of taking the village of Mametz during the Battle of the Somme which commenced 1st July, with particularly hard fighting along Dantzid Alley, a German trench system..
Interred Dantzig Alley, British Cemetery, Mametz, Somme, France,
1915 Star, Allied Victory Medal, British War Medal.

In 1941 Lydia,, returned Edward John’s South Africa & WWI medals to the War Office. A clerk has noted on his medal card, ‘‘there was no one to leave them to, and she would be happiest if they were here’’

That certainly is a sad tale. A brave soldier with no-one to remember him. I suspect he’s one of thousands.

Syce Geeda of the 1st Bombay Lancers had his two Sudan bronze medals & his bronze QSA returned to the Mint. Both rolls marked " Died 5th March 1936 (Heirless)"

I quote "In 1941 Lydia, returned Edward John’s South Africa & WWI medals to the War Office. A clerk has noted on his medal card, 'there was no one to leave them to, and she would be happiest if they were here' "

But Lydia did have someone to leave them to. Edward John Innocent had two sisters, Eleanor who died in 1952 & Lilian who died in 1960. Although Lilian died childless, Eleanor had two children and at least one grandchild. I suspect Lydia and her in-laws did not get on and she returned his medals to the War Office so they did not fall into the hands of her in-laws.

Lilian commemorated her brother - when her own husband died in 1919 at home in Sussex from wounds he received in the Great War she had a memorial headstone to him erected in Lewes Cemetery and used the base to commemorate her brother - follow the link to Find a Grave:

www.findagrave.com/memorial/245554845/edward-john-innocent

At the time of Edward John Innocent's death this notice appeared in numerous newspapers:



One could construe it as denying the existence of Lydia.

I have found Lydia on the 1921 Census and 1939 Register - in both cases living alone. She filled out the 1921 Return and besides giving her personal details just wrote "none" fthree times meaning she had no occupation and thus had no employer and worked nowhere - just looking at it a century later gives a sense of loneliness & hopelessness.

On the brighter side this from Illustrated Weekly News 26 August 1916 - the whole page is covered with photos of officers who had made the ultimate sacrifice for "King and Country".

Thank you, I missed that report about enteric fever, his service record just says ‘Discharged at his own request”. Friction between in-laws is not unknown, or perhaps in the 25 years between his death a her returning the medals they simply lost contact. I really hope she didn’t find out that according to regulations, returned medals are stored for 10 years and then broken up/destroyed.