Pte 12098 Edward Devon

• Age: 26
• From: Bootle, Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Saturday 30th March 1918
• Commemorated at: Savy Brit Cem
  Panel Ref: Roupy Rd. Mem. 63

Edward was born 1st August, 1892 in Bootle and he was baptised on the 15th Aug 1892 at St James, Bootle. Their address at the time was 103 Derby Road. He was the son of Patrick Devon and his wife Martha Jane (nee Healey). They had married 16th June 1881 at St John’s Church, Bootle.

1901 Census finds the family living at 9 Grimshaw Street, Bootle. Edward is eight years old and lives with his parents and seven siblings. His father, Patrick, is 41 year old dock labourer, born in Ireland, whilst his mother, Martha, is 40 years of age and was born in Bootle, Lancashire. His siblings are recorded as; Mary a 16 year old domestic servant, Annie a 15 yer old assistant in a boot shop, Ellen aged 12, Agnes aged 10, Easter aged 5, Catherine aged 4 and Robert aged 1. 

The 1911 Census shows the family have moved to 23 Gray Street, Bootle. Edward is 18 years of age and is described as an out of work labourer, he lives with his parents and five siblings; Ellen 22 who is employed in a matchworks, Agnes aged 20 is also employed in the matchworks, Easter aged 15, Catherine aged 14 and Robert aged 11. His parents advised that they had been married for 31 years and had 10 children born with 8 surviving. The Census record  shows his mother as being born in Dublin.

Edward’s service records show that he was 21 years and 13 days old when he enlisted on 14th August 1914 at Seaforth joining the 11th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment. He was described as being 5’5¾” tall, weighed 133lbs, with a 36” chest, and gave his occupation as a labourer. He had grey eyes, dark brown hair and gave his religion as Church of England.

19th May 1915 - embarked at Folkstone

12th Oct 1917 - posted to 19/KLR

15th Nov 1917 - granted 14 days leave to UK

10th Dec 1917 - to 30th Divn Salvage Coy, rejoining Battalion onthe 02nd January 1918. 

He was subsequently transferred and was serving in the 19^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 12098 when he was killed in action on the 30^th March 1918 aged 26 during the German Spring Offensive. 

As Graham Maddocks points out in his book The Liverpool Pals, the CWGC records 38 men of the 19^th Bn of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as killed in action on 30^th March 1918 when as the Battalion diary below, shown in bold type, records that the men were actually out of the line and safely on the way to St Valery- sur- Somme.

The composite battalion moved off from ROUVREL at 8.30 am at 50 yards interval between companies, arriving at SALEUX at 3.20 pm where they entrained, detraining at ST. VALERY-SUR-SOMME the same night. The night was spent at ST. VALERY-SUR-SOMME.

Apart from those whose bodies were not found and are commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial all but two have burial sites at Savy British Cemetery, which itself is within a couple of miles of Roupy and contains most of the identified men killed on 22^nd March 1918. Therefore, it would appear that the date of death for these men shown as 30^th March 1918 is purely an arbitrary one and that they were in fact killed on 22^nd March.

Edward is commemorated in Savy British Cemetery, France, where a Special Kipling Memorial reads:

“To the Memory of these 68 British Soldiers who were killed in action in March 1918 and buried at the time in the German Cemetery on the St. Quentin - Roupy Road, whose graves are now lost.”

Savy was taken by the 32nd Division on the 1st April 1917, after hard fighting, and Savy Wood on the 2nd. On the 21st March 1918 Savy and Roupy were successfully defended by the 30th Division, but the line was withdrawn after nightfall. The village and the wood were retaken on the 17th September 1918 by the 34th French Division, fighting on the right of the British IX Corps.

Savy British Cemetery was made in 1919, and the graves from the battlefields and from the following small cemeteries in the neighbourhood were concentrated into it.

There are now over 850, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, more than half are unidentified. Memorials are erected in the cemetery to 68 soldiers (chiefly of the 19th King's Liverpools and the 17th Manchesters), buried by the Germans in their cemetery on the St. Quentin-Roupy road, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

The Cemetery covers an area of 2,555 square metres and is enclosed by a low rubble wall.

Edward was initially declared Missing between 22nd-30th March 1918.

His father contacted the International Red Cross but was notified on 27th May that they held no information on Edward.  A further enquiry received the same response on 23rd September 1918.

Edward’s documents were received in the pension office in October 1918, which may give an indication of when he was officially declared killed in action.

His next of kin on 8th August 1919 were his parents Patrick and Martha and brother Robert at 10 Bulwer Street and his sisters Ann Tucker in Australia and Mary Woodcock in Nelson Road, Litherland. At some point his father changes the address as 7 Knowsley Road, Bootle.

A letter was sent to the army by his father, Patrick, for information about his missing son and he had a reply (Not on record) about his burial. Patrick replied to this letter and thanked them for the kind news and he was content to know that his son would have a soldiers grave, but saying “I know I will never see it”.

A PS on this letter asks “Sir, as I am the said soldiers Father, am I entitled to wear his medals?” The reply to this letter from a Major (Name unreadable) states that he was unaware of any regulations which gives permission to a parent to wear the medals earned by a deceased soldier.

His mother Martha Jane died in 1934 and his father Patrick died in 1935 .

Edward is commemorated on Bootle Civic Memorial.

father born circa 1859, died 1935 aged 76 - Patrick Devon - GRO Reference: 1935  S Quarter in LIVERPOOL NORTH  Volume 08B  Page 339

A crew record exists for the "Britannia" in 30th May 1881, Patrick Devon b.1859 Londonderry is discharged at Liverpool.

On marriage record his father is Edward Devon(deceased).

There are no birth records in Ireland for surname Devon, there is a Edward Devin born 1866 in Londonderry.

We currently have no further information on Edward Devon. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.