Edward was born in 1896 and was the son of Thomas and Isobel Brown (both originally from Allendale, Northumberland) At the 1901 census he was living at Pennant View, Rhuallt with his family. Head of the household was Thomas who was 44 and a Mine Agent. His wife Isobel was 40 and their listed children were James 19 – a Postman, Margaret was 17, Mary J 15, Thomas 8, Edward and Ellen were 5 and Alfred was 4. The four youngest had been born in Flintshire and the older ones in Durham.
At the 1911 census, the family was recorded living at Temant Mines, Rhuallt. Thomas Brown, 54, was then the Manager of the Lead Mine. His wife of 31 years, Isobel was 50. She had given birth to 8 children all of whom were still living. The children listed at home for this census were Madge 27 whose occupation was ‘Housework, domestic”, Edward T was 15, Alfred 14 and there was a new addition to the family – Sydney who was 8.
UK Soldiers who died in The Great War 1914-19 , accessible on www.ancestry.co.uk confirms the regimental details at the top of this page and also tells us that Edward Telford Brown enlisted in Rhyl. This source tells us he was killed in action.
His Medal card, also on Ancestry lists his three medals and says that his first Theatre of War was France and he entered it on the 1st December 1915.
On the 28th April 1915 his unit became the 13th battalion RWF attached to 113 Brigade and were posted to the 38th (Welsh) Division at Morn Hill camp near Winchester before embarking for France on the 1st December 1915. During the winter of 1916, the Battalion was in the trenches near the village of Festubert in the Neuve- Chapelle sector. It was here that Edward Telford Brown met his death, returning from the trenches, by a stray bullet from a sniper. However, this may be inaccurate as his family have recorded that he died without a mark on his body, so it may be that he died from internal injuries from a blast wave. (David Littler Jones’s book))
A memorial service was held in Tremerchion on Sunday 7th May 1916 at the parish church, where there was a large congregation. The vicar said his “gentle and loving nature won for him heaps of friends”
The Register of Soldiers’ Effects in which the army calculated monies owed to deceased soldiers, includes an entry for Edward. A total of £9 ..1sh ..2d was paid in two separate payments to Edward’s father Thomas Brown
