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Edwin Mason White was born in Lofthouse, Wakefield in spring 1889 the son of Ackworth born William White (1862-1921) and Horbury born Ellen Mason (born 1863) who married at Wakefield in early 1887. Edwin was baptised at All Saints Church Normanton on 9th November 1890 and in 1891 the couple were living on Charlotte Street Wakefield with their two sons, Herbert (born 1888) and Edwin (born 1889). William was working as a Brewery Drayman. In 1901 the family were still living on Charlotte Street now with a third son, Leonard, born in 1896. William was a foundry labourer and their 13 years old son, Herbert, was a clerk.
Edwin’s parents, William and Ellen, were still living in Charlotte Street with two of their three sons in 1911. The eldest son, Herbert had been promoted from clerk to Inspector and the 15 years old Leonard was an errand boy. Edwin was no longer living with his parents and siblings having married Dorcas Ward at South Ossett Christ Church on 11th June 1910. Both bride and groom gave their residences as Ossett Spa. Before their marriage Dorcas was living on Spa Lane, Ossett with her parents and siblings and Edwin was living on Horton Street, Ossett. By 1911 the couple were living in a two roomed dwelling Blakey Buildings, Kelly Street, Wakefield with their year old son, called William White, after his paternal grandfather who between1903-15 was the licensee at The Fleece Public House on Spa Street, Ossett.
Ossett Spa and surroundings.
William White was Licensee of The Fleece and the Ward family once owned Spa Bath House.
Edwin Mason White at war
Three years later on 4th August 1914 Germany invaded neutral Belgium on the way to invading France. Many years earlier in 1839 Great Britain signed the Treaty of London which bound Britain to guard the neutrality of Belgium in the event of the latter’s invasion.
Edwin enlisted at Pontefract and joined the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) Regiment thereby spending the rest of his life as Private Edwin Mason White 52496. Like many others his army service record was destroyed in London during the Blitz in September 1940. Nonetheless other information has survived which can tell us something about his service. We know that he did not serve overseas before 1st January 1916 and that, according to the record, he served in the Regular Army 2nd battalion KOYLI before his life ended in the Territorial 5th battalion KOYLI.
The 2nd battalion KOYLI was in Dublin on 4th August 1914, the day war was declared. Because 1st battalion was in Singapore and couldn’t arrive in England until November, fate had it that 2nd battalion was to be the first KOYLI unit to represent the regiment in the field. 2nd KOYLI landed at Le Havre on 16 August 1914 but Edwin would not be with them. The date that Edwin apparently joined 2nd KOYLI is unknown but it would not be before 1st January 1916.
On 28th December 1915, 2nd KOYLI transferred to 97th Brigade in the 32nd Division. Assuming Edwin joined 2nd KOYLI in early 1916 he would have spent much of his service (1916-August 1918) on The Somme.
At the time of Edwin’s death he was serving in the Territorial 5th battalion KOYLI which was only formed on the 2nd February 1918 when the Territorial 1st/5th and 2nd/5th Battalions of KOYLI were amalgamated into the new 5th Battalion, KOYLI and transferred to the 187th Brigade in 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. Consequently Edwin could not have served with 5th KOYLI any earlier than 2nd February 1918 but in the event that he served on that date he would have seen considerable action in March 1918 on The Somme at Bapaume and Arras and at Tardenois, France in July 1918.
And so to August 1918 and the battle of Bapaume, part of the British offensive often taken to be the turning point of WWI on the Western Front. It began on 21st August 1918. By this time the Germans had been pushed back ten miles from the Amiens salient back in part to the front line they held on 1st July 1916. The Somme battlefield had been deliberately devastated by Germany in 1917, fought over again and not well suited to tank warfare, further progress would require heavy bombardment to destroy the wire to enable the artillery to advance.
The British attack began on 21st August with a narrow front from which an attack was launched. The enemy counter attacked but was beaten back. On 23rd the British attacked the 33 miles front which, because of its relative success was extended to 40 miles on 26th August. The Germans ordered a retreat from the Lys and Amiens salients with the intention of forming a new line on the Somme.
Private Edwin Mason White, a husband and father fell on 27th August 1918 as the Allied powers fought to deny the German objective to establish a new front. That much was a success and the enemy was forced to retreat back to the Hindenburg line, abandoning all of the territory won in earlier 1918.
Edwin is remembered with honour at the VIS-EN-ARTOIS Memorial (Panel 8).
Vis-en-Artois and Haucourt are villages on the straight main road from Arras to Cambrai about 10 kilometres south-east of Arras. This Memorial bears the names of over 9,000 men who fell in the period from 8 August 1918 to the date of the Armistice in the Advance to Victory in Picardy and Artois, between the Somme and Loos, and who have no known grave. They belonged to the forces of Great Britain and Ireland and South Africa; the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand forces being commemorated on other memorials to the missing.
Edwin’s widow, Dorcas (nee Ward), married again in early 1920 and they had a son, Cecil born in 1920 in Wakefield. In 1921, Dorcas and her second husband, Joseph Lamb, were living at 23 George’s Square, Warrengate, Wakefield with their son, Cecil. Her children by Edwin, young William and Annie Maria, were living in the household. Before her second marriage Dorcas was living at 10, Marshall Street, Stanley Lane End and after her marriage she lived at 2 Globe Yard, Westgate, Wakefield.
Edwin M. White is remembered at the Men of Stanley Memorial, Stanley, West Yorkshire (above) and on the Wakefield Roll of Honour. He will be remembered at the Ossett War Memorial alongside his brothers and sisters in arms. We know them as The Ossett Fallen.
Research by The Ossett Fallen Team 2023. Biography by Alan Howe. January 2023
Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1750172/edwin-mason-white/
