223657 Pte. John Edmunds British Army Royal Warwickshire Fussilers from:Warwick John Edmunds, my grandfather, joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on 11th May 1908. From the records I have (Army Form B.2067) he was born in the parish of Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire and his trade was milkman. He received the British Expeditionary Force campaign medal and served with the colours for 5 years and 324/365 days and 1 year and 126 days with the army reserve. He suffered shrapnel wounds and was discharged, being deemed 'no longer physically fit for war service'. I also have Army Form 2079, his certificate of discharge. Army Form Z.21 is his certificate of transfer, Regtl No 260772, to the Royal Air Force Reserve on 24th June 1918 as a Batman. Family memory thinks he was injured in the Battle of Marne. On Army Form 2067 his character was described as ' very good. No instances of drunkeness in whole service. A smart, steady and trustworthy man'.
I remember him as a very gentle man, he couldn't read or write, and his early years were spent on the road with his father who was known as Oxford Jack because he was a well known farmers helper and a tramp who travelled between Oxford and Warwick. John was known as his 'butty', and there is an account of him and his father in a book written by a local farmer, Aubrey Seymour, 'The land where I belong' - this early life gave him a great appreciation of the natural world. He could point out signs of nature to predict the weather, and follow animal tracks etc and had many a tale to tell of life on the road, which was a delight to me as a small child.
He married Emma Statham in 1914, and they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1964. He died in hospital in Stratford upon Avon in 1966.
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