John Edwards

Born in Wales in 1886, he worked as a miner at Seaham before he joined the 10th Battalion DLI in August 1914. On 12 February 1916, the Germans bombarded 10 DLI's front line trenches on the Pilckem Road near Ypres for four hours, causing heavy casualties.

Corporal Edwards volunteered to carry a message across 250 yards of open ground during the shelling - "He was in full view of the enemy but successfully delivered his message". He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

After the war, John Edwards returned to mining and died at Seaham in 1939.