Pte Edward Mason
8 Pte Edward Mason
240761 1st/5th Norfolk Died: 03-Nov-17 Listen: Great Dunham Buried: Deir El Belah War Cemetery, Israel Enlisted: Dereham. Biography
Edward was born in 1893 in Great Dunham, the eldest son of Barney and Sarah. The family was very large and Edward had at least 8 brothers and sisters. In 1901 they were living at Beck Farm in Mileham and in 1911 in Great Dunham again. Edward joined the Norfolk Regiment, in November 1914 in East Dereham. He enlisted in the 1/5th battalion, the Norfolk Territorials. The battalion trained in Watford and were sent to Gallipoli on June 29th, 1915. The battalion lost many men in their first day of fighting, August 12th where they became known as the “Disappearing company.” Edward obviously survived this terrible day. The battalion was sent to Egypt on December 15th. They stayed there, defending the Suez Canal, until February 1917 when they marched across the Sinai Desert and attacked the Turks in Gaza on 27th March. This was another disastrous attack with 250 Norfolk’s killed. Edward survived again but was killed in the same area on the 3rd November that year. He is remembered with honour in Deir El Belah war Cemetery. Biography written by Edward. |
Great Dunham School Log Book: Arthur, Edwards brother obtained war exemption March 3rd 1916.
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