16th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
Edward George Larner was born 13 December 1885, and baptised in Sherborne on 28 March 1886. He was the son of Joseph Larner and Jane Puffett.
His siblings were James (1870), Jane (1872), Rose Hannah (1876), Rose Annie (1880), Ernest Charles (1882), Cicely Ethel (1884), Edward George (1886), an unnamed male (1887), William Thomas (1889), Elsie Mary (1891), Edith May (1895), Frederick Arthur (1898).
Edward married Elizabeth Pearce at Upton-uponSevern in 1908. Their children listed on Edwards Pension Record Card are Dorothea Alice Muriel (born 4 July 1909), Sylvia Maud (16 March 1911), and Cyril Ivor (26 June 1913).
In 1911, Edward was described as a Stonemason – the same trade as his father.
Following Edward’s death, Elizabeth went on to marry William Harlan Johnson on 26 January 1918.
Edward enlisted in Cirencester into the 16th (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, and his Theatre of War was given as Home. As a result, he was not entitled to any war medals.
On 27 July 1916, aged 30 years, he died from influenza with cerebral congestion contracted on active service. He appears to have died at home.
Edward was buried in Sherborne Churchyard Extension, which belongs to St Mary Magdalene’s Church. His grave is marked by a standard CWGC headstone. He is commemorated on the Sherborne War Memorial. A Roll of Honour for the Sherborne men who served in the Great War is held in St Mary Magdalene’s Church, Sherborne.
Researched by Baden Russell May 2021