Edward was born in 1889 in Woodbridge – he was Frederick’s younger brother. In 1911, Edward was living at home with his parents and working as a carter for a brewery. The following year, he married Lilly Annie Martin from Tollgate Cottages, who, in 1911, was working as a scullery maid at St Audry’s Hospital. They had three children; Lillian, born in 1912; Reginald in 1914 and Harry in 1916.

As a married man, Edward did not join the army when war broke out but was conscripted into the services in March 1916. He joined the Suffolk Regiment for training in May 1916, before being posted to France with the 8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment later that year.

In April 1917, the battalion were in the Lens region of France when, on the 13th April, the German army started their withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. The 16th Brigade, to which Edward’s battalion was allocated, were ordered to capture Hill 70 near Lens. The hill was only fifteen feet higher than its surroundings but commanded a view over the northern approach to the city of Lens. Over the next seven days, the brigade made several attempts to capture Hill 70 with little success, each attack being repulsed by the German army and any land gained recaptured in a counter attack.

Edward was reported as missing in the daily casualty reports printed in the national newspapers in May 1917 and it was not until January 1918 that his death was officially confirmed. The Woodbridge Reporter and Wickham Market Gazette in their 3rd January 1916 edition reported under their column "The Toll of War".

 

Pte Shemmings

Mrs Shemmings, of Valley Farm Road, Melton, Suffolk, only received notification on Saturday last, that her husband Pte Edward Shemmings of the Bedfordshire Regiment was killed in action in France on 20th April 1917. Pte Shemmings was in his 28th year and leaves a widow and three young children under 5 years of age. Pte Shemmings, before joining the army was employed by Mr Friar and the Melton Corn and Coal Company.

 

Edward is remembered on the Loos Memorial. For his war service, his family received his British War and Victory Medals. In 1939, Edward’s widow, Lily, was living in Croydon, Surrey, with her youngest son, Harry. Also shown as living with them is Elizabeth Rapley, the mother of Edward Rapley, who died during the war and is also remembered on Melton War Memorial.