6817 Sapper William Edwards, Royal Engineers

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, MSCE, BSAE P.E., MinstRE
(July 1997, revised March 2025)

During Sapper Edwards’ period of military service the British Army was involved in major wars in South Africa and Egypt, as well as numerous minor campaigns on the northwest frontier of India. Many units of the Royal Engineers were involved in active service during this period. Edwards’ military career was one of peace-time soldiering; hence, he was not entitled to any campaign medals or awards for meritorious service or gallantry.

Unless otherwise indicated, the information pertaining to Edwards’ military service has been taken from his service papers, which were found at the National Archives in War Office files WO97/1851. No family tree was found on Ancestry.com.

William Edwards was born in Cripplegate Parish near the town of London in the County of Middlesex on 11 September 1840. He was the son of Thomas Edwards, a Cabinet Maker, and Elizabeth Edwards. William was baptized on 18 September 1842 at St. Giles Without Cripplegate Anglican church, in the City of London.[1] For some reason his parents waited for two for two years before he was baptized.

Figure 2. St. Giles Without Cripplegate Church.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The 1851 Census of England shows the Edwards family living in the Civil Parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, in London, with details provided in the table below.

Like his father, William was a cabinet maker by trade. He was unmarried at the time of his enlistment in the Army. He had no prior naval or military service at the time of his enlistment in 1861.

The following is a description of William Edwards at the time of his enlistment in the Royal Engineers.

The above description of Edwards was made at the time of a medical examination performed to determine his fitness to serve in the Army. He was determined to be physically fit.

Edwards was enlisted in the Royal Engineers at Woolwich at 3:30 p.m. on 11 July 1861 by Colour Sergeant Edward Wilmore, R.E. He enlisted for a bounty of two pounds and a free kit, and declared a willingness to serve in the Royal Engineers for a period of 12 years. Edwards took the oath of attestation at Woolwich at 4:30 p.m. on 13 July 1861 in front of a magistrate, with Colour Sergeant Wilmore as a witness. On this same date he was declared to be medically fit for military service. On 15 July Edwards was re-examined in London by a surgeon of the Royal Artillery. He was noted not to have any small pox marks and showed signs of having been vaccinated during infancy. Edwards was given a final medical certificate of approval as fit for service. His enlistment was certified by the Assistant Adjutant General of the Royal Engineers on 15 July and he was assigned Regimental Number 6817 and rank of Sapper.

Following the administrative actions involved with his enlistment Edwards was sent off for his recruit training to the School of Military Engineering (SME) at Brompton Barracks in Chatham, Kent. With the exception of Drivers, every recruit enlisted for the Royal Engineers had to have a trade. Pioneers and Sappers were sent to Chatham where they were trained in infantry drill and pioneer duties. The engineer recruits also received musketry training. When the course of training was completed the recruits had to pass an examination and were then transferred to engineer formations, where they received higher pay and could earn extra allowances by working at their special trades.

Edwards’ Military History Sheet is missing from his service papers, but based on his Medical History he served at the locations indicated below during the years shown. His medical records indicate that Sapper Edwards spent a considerable amount of time in hospital. During his 21 years of service he spent a total of one year and one day in hospital with ailments such as tonsilitis, rheumatism, gonorrhea, syphilis and bronchitis.

Edwards was posted to Chatham for his recruit training in 1861, immediately following his enlistment. While at Chatham, he was admitted to hospital twice to be treated for syphilis. He missed 91 days of training because of this.

Edwards was posted to Weymouth in 1863 and probably joined the 20^th Fortress Company, which was stationed there at that time.[3] As a cabinet maker in civil life it is most likely that Edwards would have been made a Carpenter for the purpose of his military duties. His company would have assisted in the defence of the port and harbour facilities at Weymouth. This was accomplished by the use of mines and searchlights and by supporting the Royal Artillery garrison co-located with the fortress company.

A Royal Engineers fortress company typically would provide the following services in defence of ports and harbours:

In 1863 while serving at Weymouth, Edwards contracted gonorrhea three time and was hospitalized for a total of 80 days. He obviously was not a practitioner of safe sex, apparently not at least until he met his wife to be in Melcombe Regis, a small village on the Dorset coast just north of Weymouth. From that point on his medical records show no further treatment for venereal disease.

The 20^th Fortress Company moved to Curragh Camp via Kingstown, Ireland in March of 1865.[4] The company was moved there to undergo training and to assist in the construction of training facilities for other regiments. There were numerous training camps organised on the Curragh plain in the 19^th century including for training militia to defend the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars. However, the first permanent military structures were designed and built from 1855 by British soldiers of the Corps of Royal Engineers, to support efforts in the Crimean War. These structures for 10,000 infantry were constructed of wood. The camp also had its own post office, a fire station, ten barracks, two churches, water-pumping station, courthouse and clock tower.[5] These facilities constantly required maintenance and the equipment and skills found in the 20^th Fortress Company were probably put to good use while the company was there.

Edwards’ records do show that while at Curragh Camp he was treated a number of times for rheumatism as a result of exposure, and was excused duty for 14 days after suffering a contusion as a result of an accident.

William Edwards married Elizabeth Walden (without leave) at Melcombe Regis, Dorset on 7 February 1865. During this period, only four percent of Corporals and Sappers were granted permission to be married in the Royal Engineers at any one time. To receive such permission, Sappers must have served at least seven years and have two good conduct badges. Since Edwards did not meet these qualifications he had to marry “without leave”; that is, without the permission of his commanding officer. To marry under these circumstances meant that he had to continue living in barracks and that his wife was not authorized quarters or extra rations. His wife had to work or starve.

Edwards and the 20^th Fortress Company next moved to Camden Fort Meagher, a coastal defence fortification close to Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland.[6] On 13 July 1868 1869 he was awarded Good Conduct Pay at the rate of one penny (1.d) per day. Just one year later, on 13 July 1869, he was granted Good Conduct Pay at 2.d per day. Considering all his missed time due to venereal disease, the British Army was very generous with the award of Good Conduct Pay during the Victorian period.

From Camden Fort Edwards’ company moved to nearby Carlisle Fort in Cork Harbour.[7] While stationed at Carlisle Fort he was diagnosed with chronic rheumatism at the age of 32.

Figure 3. Carlisle Fort (in the background) in Cork Harbour.[8]
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Sapper Edwards re-engaged at Marylebone, London on 18 July 1870 for a further term of service to complete 21 years with the Colours. He was granted Good Conduct Pay at the rate of 3.d per day on 13 July 1873. Because of the missing sheet in his service papers, the unit(s) in which he served during these years is not known.

Sapper Edwards was posted to Chatham in 1876, but his unit is not known. He may have been serving in the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion or in the Training Battalion.

Edwards received Good Conduct Pay at the rate of 4.d per day on 13 July 1877. His records show that his marriage was recognized on 12 March 1880 while he was at Chatham. Although he was still a Sapper at this time, he was in possession of four good conduct badges. Based on his seniority, his wife was “taken on the rolls” and became eligible for quarters and extra rations. Women on the strength had (to use the official language) “the privilege of washing for their respective companies.” They might thereby earn a halfpenny per day per customer. Some worked as cooks or did needlework; the more respectable were selected to be maids or nursemaids in officers’ homes. Until the last half of the Victorian era, they usually lived in the barracks with the men, their home a corner screened off with blankets or canvas sheets. It was a hard life, and many of the women were rough. Certainly they needed to be tough. Mrs. Edwards had been required to support herself for about 15 years until their marriage was recognized by the Army.[9]

Just prior to his discharge, while stationed at Chatham, he suffered a severe bout of acute rheumatism which hospitalized him for 34 days. It is of interest to note that his signature, as it appears on his discharge papers, is much more of a scrawl than when he signed his enlistment papers as a recruit. No doubt his rheumatism (or maybe arthritis) had affected his hands and his handwriting after 21 years.

He was discharged from the Army at Chatham on 25 July 1882 on the termination of his second period of limited engagement. His records show that he was granted Good Conduct Pay at the rate of 5.d per day on this date. He had not earned any certificates of education while serving, an indication perhaps of his lack of intellect and ambition. These same records show his service with the Colours up to 30 June 1882 (for a total of 20 years and 353 days) with an additional 25 days of further service to his date of discharge, for a total of 21 years and 13 days.

Edwards’ discharge documents show his habits while serving as “temperate” and his conduct was classified as “Good” to “Very Good.” His conduct upon discharge was rated as “Very Good.” Sapper Edwards was never court martialed nor did his name ever appear in the Regimental Defaulters Book. He was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in accordance with General Order 63 of 1880.[10] The medal was awarded with a gratuity of five Pounds.

At the time of his discharge William Edwards was 41 years and 10 months old. He was 5 feet 6½ inches tall, his complexion was still described as fresh and his hair dark brown. He had the same distinguishing marks on his body upon discharge from the service as he did when he enlisted.

Figure 4. The Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (VR).
(Image from the author’s collection)

Edwards apparently intended to return to cabinet making after his discharge from the Army. He had not decided on a place to live, as he listed his intended place of residence as the Pension Office, Chatham, presumably for the forwarding of his mail.

1. FARWELL, B. Mr. Kipling’s Army. All the Queen’s Men. W.W. Norton & Company, London, 1981.

2. WALTON, P.S. Scarlet Into Khaki. The British Army on the Eve of the Boer War. Greenhill Books, London, 1988.

[1] Baptism certificate from the Parish Register.

[2] These rather unusual distinguishing marks are not described in any details in his service papers. In the UK there are 17 species of freshwater leeches, living in ponds, lakes and slow-flowing stretches of rivers. The leech marks on William Edwards’ chest may have been the result of bleeding him using leeches for some ailment that he had as a child.

[3] Study of the location of units of the Royal Engineers by Stuart Gase.

[6] Study of the location of units of the Royal Engineers by Stuart Gase.

[8] Fort Davis, previously Fort Carlisle, is a coastal defence fortification close to Whitegate, County Cork, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchel (Spike Island), Fort Camden (Crosshaven), and Templebreedy Battery (also close to Crosshaven), the fort was built to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour.

[10] This medal is in the author’s collection.

Address: 134 Shiles Street, London
Name and Surname	Relation	Marital Status	Age	Profession or Occupation	Birthplace
Thomas Edwards	Head	Married	54	Cabinet Maker	Denbigh, Wales
Elizabeth Edwards	Wife	Married	53		Kesburgh, Aberdeenshire
William Edwards	Son		10		London, Cripplegate,
Richard Jones	Lodger	Married	43	Grocer	London, Heaford
Joseph Carpenter	Lodger	Widower	55	Clerk	Hamsnuthill, Middlesex
Samuel Pierce	Lodger	Married	24		Montgomery, Wales

Age:	20 years and 10 months
Height:	5 feet 6½ inches
Chest Measurement:	36 inches
Muscular Development:	Fair
Complexion:	Fresh
Eyes:	Grey
Hair:	Dark brown
Distinctive Marks:	Leech bites on chest[2]