Edgar Burrows was born in Bromeswell, Suffolk, on 21st November 1887, the second son of John and Eliza (née Tampin). His siblings were Arthur, Edith, William, Frederick and Benjamin. In 1901, the family had moved to Does Alley, Melton, just a few doors away from Eliza’s father and brother, William and Frederick Tampin.

In 1902, at the age of fourteen, Edgar joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class at HMS Ganges on the Shotley peninsula. On his eighteenth birthday, in 1905, he enlisted for twelve years.

At the outbreak of the war, Edgar was based at HMS Pembroke II, a shore base, until joining the crew of HMS Undaunted, an Arethusaclass light cruiser, on 24th November 1915. The Undaunted was part of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force, guarding the eastern approaches to the English Channel. Edgar remained with the ship until February 1918 when he was transferred to the newly commissioned HMS Coventry, part of the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron serving in the Baltic.

By the end of the war, Edgar was back at HMS Pembroke II awaiting his next posting. He remained in the navy until 1923 when he was discharged at the end of his service period. For his war service, Edgar received the 1914-14 Star and the British War and Victory Medals. It is not known what happened to Edgar once he had left the Navy.

Edgar’s mother, Eliza, died in 1920 and his father, John, in 1938. One of his brothers, William, died in 1906, and by 1911 another, Arthur, had moved to Lewisham in London. However, his three remaining siblings; Edith, Benjamin and Frederick, continued to live in the Melton area. In 1939, Edith and Benjamin lived in Potash Cottages, Woods Lane. Frederick and his wife lived in nearby Laundry Cottages on Does Alley. Frederick died in 1975, Edith in 1976 and Benjamin in 1978.