Pte 28307 Edward Weston

 

The 1881 Census shows  the family are living in the Cellar of 77 Greig Street, Toxteth Park Liverpool. His father is 42 years of age, his wife Catherine is  aged 27 years. They have five children in the household; John is a 12 year old scholar, James and his twin brother Michael are aged 7 and are also scholars, Peter is 5 and a scholar, and Thomas is 7 months old.   

 

The 1891 Census shows the family are living at 2 Rectory Street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool. His father is a 54 year old carter, whilst his wife is 38 years of age. They have six children declared in the household; Edward is 17 with no occupation listed, Peter is 15 also with no occupation listed, Owen is 9 and a scholar, Robert is 7 and also a scholar, Mary C. is 3 and Joseph is 2. 

 

On the 24th March 1895 he married Catherine Elizabeth Edwards at St John's the Baptist in Toxteth, he signed his name as Edward Martin Weston. 

 

His father, Robert, died in 1896

 

The 1901 Census shows Edward and his wife living at No.3 Court, Byles Street, Toxteth. Edward M. is 24 years of age and a dock labourer with his wife Catherine. They have three children declared in the household. They share the property with his widowed mother, Catherine aged 47 and her son Owen shown as aged 16, and Robert shown as aged 14. 

 

The 1911 Census finds the family living at 41 Byles Street, Toxteth. He declares himself as Edward a 36 year old general labourer, his wife shown as Elizabeth is 33 year of age. They have been married for 16 years and they have had seven children all who have survived. Five of their children are declared in the household; Ellen Elizabeth is 13, Elizabeth is 11, Peter is 7, Susannah is 4 and Robert H. is 2.

 

On 24th May 1915 he enlisted in Liverpool as Private 26601 Edward Weston joining the 17th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment. He declared his age was 39 years old but he was really aged 41. He was susequently transferred to the 6th South Lancashire Regiment as Pte 25307.

 

After training he was sent overseas with his battalion in 1916 to Mesopotamia. 

 

On 16 November 1916 he died of pneumonia, aged 42.

 

He now rests at Amara War Cemetary.

 

Amara was occupied by the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force on 3 June 1915 and it immediately became a hospital centre. The accommodation for medical units on both banks of the Tigris was greatly increased during 1916 and in April 1917, seven general hospitals and some smaller units were stationed there. Amara War Cemetery contains 4,621 burials of the First World War, more than 3,000 of which were brought into the cemetery after the Armistice. 925 of the graves are unidentified. In 1933, all of the headstones were removed from this cemetery when it was discovered that salts in the soil were causing them to deteriorate. Instead a screen wall was erected with the names of those buried in the cemetery engraved upon it. Plot XXV is a Collective Grave, the individual burial places within this are not known. There are also seven non-war graves in the cemetery. 

 

His soldiers effects pay arears was sent to his widow Catherine Elizabeth and she was later sent a War Gratuity of £6.

 

She and the five children, Peter, Susannah, Robert Henry, Cecilia and Florence were awarded a dependants pension. 

 

Edward was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal, showing that he did not serve overseas until 1916.