Frank Edwards (soldier)
| Frank Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "The Footballer of Loos" |
| Born |
29 September 1893 Chelsea, London, England |
| Died | January 1964 (aged 71) Whitton, London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1935 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Service number | 1751 |
| Unit |
London Irish Rifles Corps of Military Police |
| Battles/wars |
World War I • Battle of Loos |
Frank Edwards (29 September 1893–January 1964), also known as The Footballer of Loos, was a British Army soldier in the First World War who served as a rifleman in the 1st Battalion, London Irish Rifles, during the Battle of Loos. He is distinguished for leading the London Irish across no man's land to storm enemy trenches kicking a football ahead of the troops. The successful capture of enemy positions that followed earned the London Irish Rifles their second battle honour, Loos, 1915. The football is still preserved in the regimental museum of the London Irish and to this day the memory of Edwards is commemorated on Loos Sunday.
Edwards was born into a working-class family in Chelsea, London. He married, but his wife and child both died in 1913. On the outbreak of the war in August 1914 he was working as a stationer's assistant, but promptly enlisted in the 1st Battalion, London Irish Rifles, who were based at the Duke of York's Barracks on the King's Road, Chelsea. A keen footballer, Edwards soon became captain of his battalion's football team, and led them to victory in the Brigade Final, only days before they were sent to France in March 1915.
The 1st London Irish first saw action during the Battle of Festubert in May 1915, and by September, were stationed close to the village of Loos. Concerns about the Christmas truce of 1914, and the football matches played by both sides, had led to the banning of footballs on the front line, with many senior officers regarding socialising with the enemy as something near mutiny. However, the 1st London Irish had several footballs concealed among the ranks, of which all but one were deliberately punctured by an officer the night before "the big push". Early on 25 September 1915, as the 1st London Irish were waiting to launch the attack, Edwards inflated his football and as they went "over the top" kicked it out into no man's land, calling "Play up London Irish!". The ball was kicked towards the German front lines by several of his fellow soldiers as they advanced. Edwards himself was wounded in the thigh after advancing only a short distance, and also suffered from the effects of the chlorine gas that the British were using for the first time to cover their advance. He was evacuated to a hospital in England.
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