He was born on 6 May 1895, the 11th of 13 children. He was baptised on 26 June 1895 at Birkenhead Holy Trinity Church in Price Street Birkenhead. In the 1911 Census and subsequently, the family was at 267 Brook Street. He was a boiler cleaner at a shipyard. By the time of his joining the Army he was a rivet heater, employed by Grayson’s Ltd.

The Grayson Rollo and Clover shipyard was a ship repair and dry dock facility situated on the River Mersey at Birkenhead, between the Cammell Laird yard and Woodside Ferry.

His service record survived the Blitz, and contained a handwritten letter from his brother (my grandfather), which was a nice surprise!

Edward enlisted in the Army on 21 September 1914 aged 19. He was 5 feet 4 1/2 and 110 lbs. On 7 October he was assigned to the Royal Army Medical Corps 33rd Field Ambulance as a driver (of horses) at Sheffield. While there, he was a day late returning from leave on 2 November 1914, and received 3 days C.B. (confined to barracks) and lost a day’s pay. He went home on leave for New Year. Some time after this, 33rd Field Ambulance were stationed at Attleborough in Norfolk.

On 21 January 1915 he was again stationed at Sheffield, and requested a transfer to 59th Brigade R.F.A., also at Sheffield. This was approved on 2 February and on 15 February he was posted to “B” Battery, again as a driver.

My grandfather Christopher wrote a letter to the Officer Commanding 59th Brigade requesting Edward, his younger brother, be transferred to his unit (“A” Battery, 80th Brigade) at Swanage. The letter was sent with a transfer request form dated 20 March. This was signed by Major Harpur of 80th Brigade on 28 March. Edward left for Swanage by the 4.40 train from Sheffield on 19 April.

From the Brigade war diaries it seems Edward might have been temporarily transferred to either 79th or 81st (Howitzer) Brigades prior to leaving for France, as his medal card shows he entered France on 14 July, whereas Christopher with 80th Brigade entered on 15 July. However, his later medical records (post 31 August 1916) say he was in “A” Battery of 80th Brigade. Confusingly, on 31 August 1916 80th Brigade was broken up and personnel went to either 78th or 79th. Christopher went to 79th. I might be obsessing over detail somewhat here…

The next record shows him being admitted to 2nd Southern General Hospital, Bristol on 15 January 1917, suffering from trench foot and inflammation of connective tissue on the right heel. On 25 January he was transferred to Gloucester Red Cross Hospital, The Palace, Gloucester, then discharged “on sick furlough and to duty” on 16 February 1917.

He was first posted to 158th Brigade at Heytesbury Wiltshire. On 19 June 1917 he was posted to 13th Battery of 3A Reserve Brigade at Larkhill. On 29 September he suffered a slight contusion to his back while handling a pair of horses and was admitted to hospital on 11 October.

He was next posted to the B.E.F. in France on 4 December 1917. The handwritten record is difficult to read, but it looks like he was posted to “B” Battery of 103rd Brigade on 12 December 1917. If so, that Brigade moved to Italy in November 1917 as part of 23rd Division, and that period of their war diary has not been digitised.

He was demobilized on 8 February 1919 aged 24. He received a pension of 8 shillings and three pence weekly, having contracted appendicitis attributable to his war service. This was assessed as a 30% disability.

His medals were sent to him at 267 Brook Street and he signed for them. Although their father died in 1917, Edward’s brother James Colby Waller was still living there with their sisters Amelia and Lily in 1939.

He died aged 31 in November 1926 at Mossley Hill Military Hospital in Liverpool. He was buried on 29 November 1926 as Edward Waller, Army Pensioner aged 31, in Birkenhead (Flaybrick Hill) Cemetery, Section 9, Grave 527a, along with his father John James, mother Mary Jane (in 1929), nephew William James Eason and niece Georgina May Weedon.