大象传媒

My father (Lew) was born on 13th January 1914 and died on 2nd February 1993. He served in 'B' Company, 1st Bn Queen Victoria's Rifles (also known in 1937 as Kings Royal Rifle Corp). His army number was 6142398.

He undertook a forced march from Poland to Germany in 1945 as documented in the Forced March account section. For all that he saw and all that he felt, he never seemed down about his experiences and had fond memories of his friends which always made him smile.

He was a PoW initially at Stalag XXA and then moved in 1941 when Stalag XXB was opened. He was camp tailor in Stalag XXB and recalls the PoWs putting on shows to amuse themselves. Dad played the violin in the camp band also. There are some photographs from Stalag XXA/B and dad appears to be in them!

I also recall him telling me that the PoWs all spoke a form of German that even the German's did not understand!

Family and Background
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My father was born in Bromley (Kent) in the County of London on 13th January 1914. His birth was registered in the District of Poplar.

Father John Lionel Edwards, bricklayers laborer
Mother Emma Edwards (nee Grim)

He lived at 149 Brunswick Road, Bromley and had two brothers (I think). His elder brother, John, fought in the First World War and he had a younger brother, George, whom he was very close to.

My pal Geoff did a bit of a geneology search for me and found out a bit more based upon the 1901 census:

Name Age Place of Birth Status Current District
Emma G. Edwards 24 Limehouse, London Wife Bromley, London
John L. Edwards 24 Stepney, London Head Bromley, London
John L. J. Edwards 2 Poplar, London Son Bromley, London

His first marriage was to Mrs F A Edwards and they lived at 16 Albany Road, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. They subsequently divorced and he married my mother in 1966 and they lived at 68 Pares Close, Horsell, Woking, Surrey. During this time he worked as a collector for Charringtons Solid Fuel and also as a security guard for Securicor.

My mother and he separated around 1979 and divorced shortly afterwards and he lived with his third wife, Yvonne, at 91 Fairway, Chertsey, Surrey. She had three grown up children.

Dad continued working for Charringtons for some time and when he retired, he became a security guard for an industrial estate in Weybridge and finally worked for Wimbledon Stadium Greyhound Kennels in Hersham, Surrey. He ended up in a home in Addlestone, Surrey, for around 6 months before he finally died in 1993.

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