SERGEANT 6818 EDWARD BARNES 18th (QUEEN MARY'S OWN) HUSSARS


SERGEANT 6818 EDWARD BARNES 18th (QUEEN MARY'S OWN) HUSSARS. KILLED IN ACTION 1st NOVEMBER 1914.



Born in Ilkley in 1898, Edward Barnes, was one of 7 children of stationary engine driver Jasper Barnes and his wife Rachel who lived at 6 Clifton Terrace. After leaving school he had been employed in a local billiard hall as a marker but on 2nd September 1906 enlisted into the 18th Hussars. Edward remained in the army and at the beginning of the war in 1914 went with the rest of his regiment to fight in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF)


The 18th Hussars landed in France on 15th September 1914 and were amongst the first British units to see action in the war. Now holding the rank of sergeant, Edward would have been involved in the fighting at Mons, Le Chateau and the Battle of the Marne in August and September of that year. By October the 18th Hussars along with the rest of the BEF were defending the Belgian city of Ypres from constant German attacks.  On the 1st November the regiment was dismounted and acting as infantry in the front line at Wulverghem when in the early hours of the morning it was ordered to defend the ruins of the town of Messines.  Men of the regiment erected barricades across roads and attempted to defend the position against strong German attacks. For the whole day they managed to repel the enemy despite being subjected to heavy artillery fire but by evening time the regiment was forced to retreat leaving many casualties. It was during this action that Edward Barnes lost his life, although, the circumstances are not known and his body was never recovered.

Sergeant Edward Barnes is remembered on the Poegsteert Memorial to the Missing and remembered with pride on the war memorial in Ilkley







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