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SKELTON - IN - CLEVELAND
IN HISTORY
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"WE WILL REMEMBER THEM"
11278 Private EDWARD BERTIE PAWSEY.
2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment.
Died, aged 25, on the 30th of September 1918.
Son of William and Emma Pawsey, of Archway House, Gilling West, Richmond, Yorks.
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Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun, 9 kilometres West of Arras.
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FAMILY:-
1911. Edward, aged 17, is living at Gilling West, N Yorks, his place of birth and working as a Garden Labourer.
His Father, William, aged 48, is a Bailiff on the Wharton Estate at Gilling. He was born in Skelton in Cleveland.
His Mother, Lucy A, aged 42, was born at Gilling West. By 1911 she had had 5 children and all are living at home.
Edward has 3 brothers, William, 14, Reginald, 13 and Thomas aged 7.
And 2 sisters, Mary E, 15 and Florence aged 12.
At some time before the War he must have started work at Skelton Castle, as a Gardener and lived in there.
WAR SITUATION:-
Edward's Medal Card shows that he was awarded the 1914/15 Star and that he first entered a theatre of War on the 14th July 1915 in the "Balkans".
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The lads of the Yorkshire Regiment who died at Gallipoli have this same entry and they were all in the 6th Battalion.
This Battalion went on to fight on the Western Front at the Somme in 1916 and Arras in 1917.
It seems highly likely that Edward served in the 6th Yorks Battalion and was transferred at some point to the 2nd, but what action he was involved in between Gallipoli and his death is not known.
Probably he was wounded at some time and re-posted to a different Unit on recovery, as happened to many.
In May 1918 the 2nd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment were transferred to 32nd Brigade of the 11th Division.
The Division fought in the Battles of the Hindenberg line.
The tide was beginning to turn against Germany by September 1918 and the British were forcing a way through what
had been impregnable lines of trenches, barbed wire and concrete emplacements.
It seems Edward lost his life during the Battle of the Canal du Nord 27th Sep to 1st October which was a
phase in the advance which finally forced the Germans to sue for peace in November.
MEMORIAL:-
The Duisan British Cemetery lies in the village of Etrun, which is about 9 kilometres East of Arras.
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