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Cedric Edwards

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Cedric George Edwards
Born(1899-06-05)5 June 1899
Hampstead, London, England
Died27 August 1918(1918-08-27) (aged 19)
Vicinity of Jigsaw Wood, France
Commemorated at
Arras Flying Services Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Royal Air Force
Years of service1917–1918
RankLieutenant
UnitNo. 12 Squadron RNAS
No. 9 Squadron RNAS/No. 209 Squadron RAF
Battles / warsWorld War I
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

Lieutenant Cedric George Edwards DFC (5 June 1899 – 27 August 1918) was a British World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.[1]

Biography

Edwards was born in Hampstead, London, the son of John Frederick Edwards (1857–1940) and Elizabeth Ann (née Walton) (1865–1945).[2]

He initially joined the Royal Naval Air Service as a probationary temporary flight officer on 7 September 1917, being commissioned as a temporary flight sub-lieutenant on 27 November 1917.[3] After training with No. 12 Squadron, he was posted to No. 9 Squadron, which became No. 209 Squadron RAF on 1 April 1918.[1]

Flying a Sopwith Camel, between 11 April and 11 August 1918 he accounted for seven enemy aircraft destroyed or driven down out of control; four solo and three shared with other pilots, including Roy Brown, Robert Foster and Thomas Luke.[1]

Edwards was killed on 27 August 1918 when his aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Jigsaw Wood, France.[2] Initially reported as "missing", his death was later confirmed,[4] although his body was never recovered. He is commemorated at the Arras Flying Services Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.[5]

His award of the Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted posthumously on 20 September 1918. His citation read:

Lieutenant Cedric George Edwards.
The fearlessness and disregard of danger displayed by this officer in attacking enemy troops, etc., at low altitudes is most marked, and worthy of the highest praise. On one occasion in an attack on an aerodrome, to enable him to fire on the hangars he descended so low that the wheels of his machine touched the ground. He has in air combats destroyed three hostile aircraft.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cedric George Edwards". The Aerodrome. 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Cedric George Edwards". The Descendants of Edward Edwards. 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  3. ^ "No. 30402". The London Gazette. 27 November 1917. p. 12356.
  4. ^ "Casualties". Flight. X (509): 1O94. 26 September 1918. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Edwards, Cedric George". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  6. ^ "No. 30913". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 September 1918. pp. 11250–11251.
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