Edwin enlisted into the 5th Battalion on the 11th April 1911 and was allowed the Regimental number 1393. At the outbreak of War, or shortly after, he was transferred to the 2/5th Battn and was posted to France with the 178th Bde, 59th Division on the 26th February 1917 and re-allocated the number 200064.

Edwin was sick a few times during the spring and summer of 1917, requiring treatment and rest at various Field Ambulances (2/1 NMFA), Casualty Clearing Stations (48th) and the 59th Divisional Rest Station.

Edwin was granted leave to England in October 1917, returning to the 2/5th Battalion.

On the 21st March, Edwin with the rest of C Company of the 2/5th Battalion, were in Reserve at Noreuil on the extreme right of the 59th Division frontage. They were quickly over whelmed and outflanked by the German forces proceeding down the Noreuil Valley.

Edwin was severely wounded and spent 5 months in a German POW Camp Hospital at Hamelin.

During that time he received a parcel from the Sherwood Foresters Prisoners of War Regimental Care Committee, which provided him with a variety of items to make his life more comfortable as a POW.

Edwin was discharged on the 15th April 1919. He received a pension and was awarded a Silver War Badge in addition to the British War and Victory Medals.