Edwin Sydney Hiscock was born in Corsham, Wiltshire, 11th November 1902. The older of two children, his parents were quarry manager Edwin Hiscock and his wife, Helen.

When he finished his schooling, Edwin Jr found work as a clerk, but as a young teenager, the thrill and excitement of the war going on around him, drew him to a life in the Royal Air Force. He enlisted on 27th March 1919, and was dispatched to the School of Technical Training at Halton Camp near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Boy Hiscock’s service records note that he was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall, with dark hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion.

Edwin’s life in the military was to be cut tragically short. He had lived a cosseted life in rural Somerset – the family having moved to Monkton Combe, near Bath. At the RAF base, he was surrounded by men and women from across the country, and was suddenly exposed to illnesses that he would not have encountered had he remained at home. It is unclear what he contracted but in the months after the First World War, influenza swept Europe, so this is a likely suspect. Edwin passed away at the base on 23rd April 1919, having completed 27 days’ service. He was just 16 years of age.

The body of Edwin Sydney Hiscock was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Michael’s Church, Monkton Combe.

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Edwin’s headstone includes the epitaph “With Christ which is much better”, a bitter pill to swallow.

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