Edward Burden Minter was born in Penge, London on Saturday, 11th April 1891 and baptised four months later on Sunday, 2nd August in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire. He was the second child and first son born to Edward Burden Minter and Joanna Seabrooke who had ten children together, two of whom died in infancy. The surviving children were: Edith Joanne, Edward Burden, Mabel Emily, Kate Frances, Alice Avis, Albert, Florence Ethel and George Thomas.

Edward’s father Edward was a native of Hoxton in London and was living in Penge near Croydon as a ‘House Painter’ when his eldest son was born. Two years later, the family moved to Bovingdon in Hertfordshire where Edward’s mother Joanna had been born and where she still had family.

By the time he was twenty-years-old, Edward was working as a ‘Builder’s Carter’ and at around this time he met Emily Florence Lee who lived in Adeyfield in Hemel Hempstead. Emily worked for G.B. Kent and Sons Ltd. as a ‘Hand Drawer’ in the brush works in Apsley. In 1913 Edward and Emily were married on 15th November in St Paul’s Church, Hemel Hempstead where Emily and her family were members of the congregation. The young couple moved into Emily’s parents house at 5 Adeyfield Cottages and Edward’s family also moved from Bovingdon to Cowper Road in Boxmoor.

Edward joined the Colours under the Military Service Act which had introduced conscription in January 1916 and came into full effect two months later in March. Edward attested in Hemel Hempstead in the same month and joined the Royal Fusiliers (City of London) Regiment and immediately went to undergo basic training. When he went to France on the 28th September 1916 he was initially posted to the 26th Battalion. He saw his first action at the Battle of Transloy Ridges and just as it concluded he was transferred to the 11th Battalion Royal Fusiliers.

Edward immediately went into action with his new Battalion at the final engagement on the Somme in the Battle of Ancre. In early 1917 the Battalion was engaged in operations along the Ancre and by February had moved to Miraumont where an attack on the German positions was in preparation on the 15th February. Two days later Edward went into action again when the attack began at 05:45 a.m. on what would prove to be his last day of life.

The advancing troops ran into heavy sniping and machine gun fire which resulted in every company officer being killed or wounded before they had even reached the German Trench a short distance away. The accuracy of the enemy fire was noted in the Battalion War Diary which records the following: “Throughout the Operation it was remarkable the high percentage of men that were hit through the head, showing beyond a doubt that these Germans who had to meet us were no mean marksmen”

The majority of the Battalion casualties appear to have been incurred during the early part of the assault and again the War Diary recorded the following: “2 Officers Killed, 1 Officer Died of Wounds, 11 Officers Wounded, 1 Officer Shell Shock  36 OR Killed in action, 6 OR Died of Wounds 162 OR Wounded 69 OR Missing”

Edward was one of the men Killed in Action and he died on Saturday, 17th February 1917.

Edward is incorrectly recorded as ‘F Minter’ on the Hemel Hempstead War Memorial but recorded correctly on the memorial plaque in St Paul’s Church in Hemel Hempstead. Sadly the original plaque was lost when the church was demolished and has been replaced by a memorial scroll in the new church iat Highfield.

Edward is Remembered with Honour on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France, Pier and Face 8 C 9 A and 16 A.

He was 25 years old when he died.

Edward was entitled to the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.