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Edward Cartwright, Private, Canadian Infantry

Edward Cartwright joined Jesus College in October 1904 after attending Truro Grammar School and Denstone College.

Born: Callington, Cornwall on 29 June 1882

Died of wounds received in action: 11 October 1916

His father was the Rector at St Andrews at nearby Wimpole Hall.

The Lent Term 1905 edition of Chanticlere, mentions him being drafted into the association football team. The College Football team was not faring as well as it had previously, playing in the second division, and apparently struggling to attract players, particularly strikers.

The JCAFC “eagerly looked round among the freshmen for help in this division, but were disappointed in our search. Ultimately two Rugby forwards J.E. Maller and E. Cartwright were drafted in… and they did their best for us” (Chanticlere, Lent Term 1917, pp544-545).

Cartwright only stayed in College for one year, leaving in June 1905 to go to British Columbia to take up farming and he was there when war broke out. He joined the Canadian forces early in 1915 and “was kept for some months on guard duty on the Pacific coast”.

He then came to England in June 1916 before heading to France in September. He had only been in France for three weeks when his spine was injured by shrapnel. He was then transferred to “Leeds Military Hospital, and after lingering for ten days, died on 11 October 1916” (Jesus College Society Annual Report, 1917, p23).

Edward, who left a wife and young family back in Canada is buried at St Andrew’s church, Wimpole Hall, where his father was Rector. His twin brother, Charles had been killed in action 6 months earlier and has no known grave. 

You can email us on ww1-project@jesus.cam.ac.uk, go to our First World War homepage, or find us on Lives of the First World War.