Second Lieutenant Edward William Wilkinson

Edward Wilkinson lived with his wife and family at 2 Frithville, Upper Chase Road, before the war. A Boer War ^[1] veteran, he was for sometime an instructor of PE at the Priory School and was an expert swimmer. On the outbreak of war he joined the Army Gymnastic Staff and subsequently gained a commission. He was home on leave a few weeks before his death.

Mrs Wilkinson received a letter from a brother officer: “As you will have no doubt heard by now, your husband I regret to say has been killed. It might be some slight consolation to know that it was instantaneous. He was killed like a soldier at the head of his men taking them into the attack on the 7th July. He was showing me a photo of yourself and his three little boys only two days before. His death was not altogether in vain – we had a tough job in front of us and he set a fine example to his men at a critical time.”