Edward James Bladon was born at Potten End, Hertfordshire in early 1889. He was the youngest son of Joseph Bladon and Rebecca Nash Pearce who had a large family of twelve children. Edward’s siblings were: Anne Louise, Emily, Rebecca, Annie, Clara Elizabeth, Rose, Frederic Rosea, Hezekiah John, Mary, Joseph Micaiah and Mercy. The first and last-born children died in infancy and Edward’s brother Joseph died in 1901 aged sixteen.

His father Joseph was a Watercress Grower, initially working in Rickmansworth before setting up in business on his own account. He moved with his family to Water End near Hemel Hempstead in 1890 where they lived in ‘Spring Cottage’. Joseph regularly advertised his business in local newspapers and appears to have had a successful enterprise until 1894 when it failed.

Because of this commercial catastrophe, Rebecca and four of the youngest children, including Edward aged twelve, moved to Boxmoor, Hertfordshire to live with an older married daughter Annie. The 1901 Census records that they lived with Annie and her husband William Fossey in Hammerfield, Boxmoor and that Rebecca and her daughter Rose had found employment as Envelope Makers with John Dickinsons. Edward’s father Joseph is not present on the Census return.

Edward followed his older brother Hezekiah into the regular army and enlisted with the 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment sometime before 1909. ‘Bandsman’ Bladon was a drummer in ‘C’ Company and he was at St George’s in Bermuda with the Battalion in 1911 before moving to Robert’s Heights, Praetoria in South Africa a year later.

At the outbreak of war, the 2nd Beds immediately returned to England, landing at Southampton on the 19th September 1914 and forming part of the 'Immortal' 7th Division. Having refitted for European warfare, the division left Southampton at 8 a.m. on the 5th October, on board the ’S.S. Winifredian’ and after a brief stop at Dover for supplies, landed in Zeebrugge at 6.30 a.m. on the 7th October 1914.

Eleven days later on the 18th October, Edward saw action with the unit on the Menin Road near Gheluvelt and the Battalion suffered it’s first casualties "1 sergeant & 1 man killed 21 other ranks wounded 2 other ranks missing." This engagement took place on the eve of the First Battle of Ypres which continued until 22nd November 1914 and the Battalion suffered very significant casualties during the fighting.

On Christmas day 1914, Edward wrote to his family from the trenches describing his ‘lucky escape’ and how he rescued a wounded colleague under dangerous circumstances. The details of his story were reported in the Gazette in January 1915 and give some hint of the appalling risks and the fear that the soldiers faced in the conflict.

By the time he wrote home in December 1915, Edward had moved with the Regiment from Flanders to France and he saw significant action again in March of the same year at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle where once again casualties were heavy. Edward survived the battle, but his luck was to run out a little over two months later at the Battle of Festubert.

Edward was wounded at some point on the 16th or 17th May during the British attacks on the German trenches and died of his wounds on Monday, 17th May 1915.

His death was one of 4,123 casualties suffered by the 7th Division and of the 16,648 British casualties between the 15th and 25th May, before Festubert was finally captured for a gain of some 1.9 miles.

Edward is Remembered with Honour at Le Touret Memorial, Pas de Calais, France: Panel 10 and 11.

He was 26 years old when he died.

Edward was eligible for the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.