Thomas Harry Edwards (1923-1994)

Lex Knowlton
Jul 16
3 min read

Thomas Harry Edwards was born on the 7th of August 1923 in Chester, Cheshire, England, to Francis Edwards and May Sinclair. He was likely baptised at St. Wurburgh's Roman Catholic Church (the same church his parents married in and his mother received requiem Mass in at her death - record is pending).

He was the second youngest of six children:

Elsie May Edwards (1914 - 1962)
Gladys Edwards (1915 - 1980)
Francis Edwards Jr. (1920 - 1980)
Dorothy Edwards (1921 - 2010)
Thomas Harry Edwards (1923 - 1994)
Arthur Edwards (1930 - 2016)

He appears on the 1939 Register with his family:

Tommy would have only been 16 when World War Two broke out - so unless he lied about his age, his military service did not begin until at least mid-1941 (awaiting files to be released to me from the National Archives). We know from family oral history and a Medal Card that he served in Burma. From a photograph he sent to his sister, we can also see he was in India at some time in 1944. Tom was mainly involved in reconnaissance and had to witness many tragic and horrific things during his time in Burma.

Thomas Harry EDWARDS, Joan Elizabeth KELLY and their only child (still living).

From Family Oral History:

During one mission, he had been separated from his regiment and found himself alone. He came across a lone Japanese soldier, and a fight ensued. The Japanese soldier got the better of him and forced him to line up against a tree. The Japanese soldier picked up a British rifle to shoot Tom, not realising it had a safety catch on it. This split second was enough for Tom to overpower the man and come out the survivor.

Another time in Burma, they had been ambushed. Tom had survived and heard the Japanese coming. He smeared his dead friends' blood on himself and pulled their corpses on top of him and lay there pretending to be dead. The Japanese went through the dead British soldiers, stabbing at them with bayonets to ensure they were dead. A bayonet blade sliced past his upper arm. Another lucky near miss.

Postcard photo sent to Tom's sister; the back says it was taken in India in 1944.

Tom (right) and friend during WW2. Probably taken in Burma.

After the war was over, Tom went home, being officially discharged on the 14th of November 1946. He was awarded several medals for his service. But what he went through would haunt him for the remainder of his life.

In mid-1946, he married Elizabeth Joan (who went by Joan) Kelly. They had one son in February 1947.

Thomas Harry Edwards died at 71 years old from a pulmonary embolism, DVT and congestive heart failure on the 5th of April 1994. He had four grandchildren and one great-grandchild at the time of his death. He is remembered fondly as a wonderful grandfather by his grandchildren, who spent many an afternoon begging Grandad to divulge all the pressure points that could "kill a man" ... he never did.

RESEARCH NOTES (last updated 19th Feb 2026):

BIRTH: GRO extract was purchased, but the image was cut off. I emailed GRO, and they couldn't provide a new scan, so they gave a refund. Could contact the local registry office OR order a birth certificate to get additional information.

BAPTISM: Parents married in St. Werburgh’s RC Church, and his mother received a requiem mass there upon her death. I emailed the church regarding baptism records and received a response stating that they no longer hold records that old; I would need to contact Chester local archives.

MILITARY: Have received MOD file, need time to go through it all.

Sources

England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 General Register Office; United Kingdom; Reference: Volume 8a, Page 618
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 General Register Office; United Kingdom
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 10a; Page: 505
UK, Burial and Cremation Index, 1576-2014 Deceased Online; United Kingdom; Deceased Online Burial Indexes
Thomas Harry Edwards. UK, British Army World War II Medal Cards, 1939-1945 – 1939-45 Burma; Defence; War. Index accessed 16th August 2025 via Ancestry.com, original held by: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; WW2 C.S.20 Army Medal Cards; Reference: WO 460/168.
Thomas Edwards. 1939 Register. Scan viewed on 17th August 2025 via FindMyPast, www.findmypast.co.uk. Reference: RG101/3931D/021/21

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