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Edward Jordan from Hulme, Manchester ... Killed in Action #OTD 106 yrs ago - 20 August 1914
(This is the story of a relative of mine who I was particularly proud to have stumbled upon. It's a long thread (20 or so tweets) but is possibly quite unusual, so please bear with me!)
(This is the story of a relative of mine who I was particularly proud to have stumbled upon. It's a long thread (20 or so tweets) but is possibly quite unusual, so please bear with me!)
1/ Edward Jordan, the eldest son of Irish immigrants, Edward & Mary, was born in Hulme, Manchester on 31 Jan 1872, in an area of poor housing, overcrowding & borderline poverty.
2/ By the age of 15, he had gained employment working on the docks of the River Irwell and Bridgewater Canal where he was employed as a loader … Hard graft , long hours, low pay … & , for a young man with adventure in mind … boring!
3/ An alternative to the humdrum existence could be found locally, however … and a life in the Army was a possible alternative (a barracks and militia drill hall existed a short distance from Edward’s home & work).
4/ However, there was a problem … with his family background and local, pro-fenian, sentiments running high, this was not really an option. Instead, in Dec 1890, Edward climbed aboard a merchant vessel at Manchester Docks bound for Marseille where he arrived in Jan 1891.
5/ Finding Marseille a little ‘too’ familiar, he boarded another ship a few days later and arrived in Oran, Algeria.
Penniless, Edward went to the ‘Village Negre’… full of bars, brothels and …. soldiers.
Penniless, Edward went to the ‘Village Negre’… full of bars, brothels and …. soldiers.
6/ Here, he got talking to them … and subsequently enlisted into the Légion étrangère for 5 years on 29 Jan 1891. After completing training at Sidi Bel Abbès (where, though harsh, some aspects must have seemed an absolute luxury to a slum kid like Edward!) …
7/ Edward was sent to the 2e régiment étranger at Saïda on 16 Feb 1891 from where he was engaged in long range desert patrols, controlling Berber tribesmen & manning border stations on the Algeria/Morocco border. Promoted to caporal on…
8/ …1 Feb 1892, Edward was sent to Tonkin in May 1892 to take part in the campaign to re-establish order in the wake of the Sino-French War and to suppress Vietnamese opposition to French rule where he saw action in a few small scale engagements and was promoted to sergent on…
9/ …11 Feb 1894. He returned to Algeria in June 1894 where his duties were similar to those of his 1st campaign. However, on 12 June 1895, Edward became a naturalised Frenchman and, on 23 Jan 1896, re-engaged for a further 5 years service.
10/ Following this, he was appointed to sergent-fourrier on 12 July 1896 & became an élève-officier in Jan 1897.
He left Algeria (& the Légion) in 1898 & entered l'École Militaire d'Infanterie at Saint –Maixant on 7 April 1898.
He left Algeria (& the Légion) in 1898 & entered l'École Militaire d'Infanterie at Saint –Maixant on 7 April 1898.
11/ Commissioned as a sous-lieutenant on 1 April 1899, Edward joined the 7e régiment d'infanterie at Cahors with whom he served (after April 1901) as a temporary lieutenant before being attached to the 1e régiment d’Zouaves in Paris & Algiers a year later.
12/ In Jan 1902, Edward’s lieutenancy was confirmed & he was transferred permanently to the 1er RZ taking part in campaigns in Algeria between 1902 & 1906.
13/ For his service during this period, Edward was made a chevalier of the Légion d’honneur on 12 July 1906 – just after being transferred to the 109e régiment d'infanterie at Chaumont.
14/ Whilst with the 109e RI, Edward got married to Amelie de Garde Lapachelle & bought a large house at 23, rue Amiral Roussin in Dijon … a big difference from his origins!
15/ Life seemed to be getting even better as he transferred to the 29e régiment d’infanterie at Autun in order to receive promotion to capitaine in June 1914.
16/ However … from 2 August 1914, huge numbers of newly mobilised reservists began to arrive at Autun &, on 6 August, 3,345 men – including Edward - left the barracks for the move eastwards and the War against Germany.
17/ After 1st clashing with the Germans at Montigny on 12 August, Edward’s regiment (part of 16e DI , 8 CA) continued to push eastwards, seeing its 1st major action at Domèvre on 14 Aug & then crossing the German border to arrive in woodland N & W of Sarrebourg on 15th.
18/ Remaining here through a German bombardment on 19 August, the German counter attack on 20th saw Edward’s positions, near Haute-Clocher, overwhelmed by numerically superior German forces who inflicted horrendous losses.
19/ Amongst the 573 29e RI casualties of this day (worse was yet to come!) was Edward who, it was reported, was ‘mortally wounded by artillery fire but remained at his post until death’.
20/ Buried near where he fell at bois Neuvel Hoff (woods w of Sarrebourg), his body was moved to Sarrebourg in 1920 & then to the National Cemetery of Buhl, Sarrebourg in 1925 where he remains to this day.
Endnote… on same day that Edward died, a bunch of recruits turned up in Paris to join his old regiment… quite a famous bunch with some real characters, but that’s another story!
Edwards medals... (and the memorial at l'École Militaire d'Infanterie at Saint –Maixant that includes his name)
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