Royal Engineers Badge
Medal Card
Derek Johnstone and Carole Fife have provided the following:
Edward Stobart was born in 1897 at Tweedmouth in the North of Northumberland, the only son to Robert Stobart, a railway guard, working for the North Eastern Railway Company, from Bywell and Jane Stobart, who was born at Seghill, Northumberland. They were married in 1884.
In 1901 the Stobart family which included Edward, aged 3, lived at 22, Tower Road Tweedmouth.
The 1911 Census shows his family living at 6, Dale Street, North Blyth, a village near to Cambois in Northumberland. Edward at this time was aged 13 and still at school.
Edward had enlisted at Jarrow in County Durham.
The 451st Field Company was a Territorial unit originally the 3/1 Northumberland Field Company, renumbered 451st on the 6th March 1917. Went to Mesopotamia and joined the 15th Indian Division at Nasiriya on the 10th January 1917. Originally served with the 63rd Division.The 15th Indian Division was formed on the 7th May 1916 in Mesopotamia, and had already seen action. The Northumbrian engineers joined the division on the Euphrates front as follows: 2/2nd Northumbrian Field Company, joined on the 1st December 1916, numbered 448th (Northumbrian) Field Company on the 6th March 1917, 3/1st Northumbrian Field Company, joined on the 10th March 1917, numbered 450th (Northumbrian) Field Company on the 6th March, and the 1/3rd Northumbrian Field Company, joined on the 10th January 1917, numbered 451st (Northumbrian) Field Company on the 6th March. The division took part in the Capture of Ramadi on the 28th and 29th September 1917, the occupation of Hit on 9th March 1918, and the Action of Khan Baghdadi on the 26th and 7th March 1918.
At the end of the war the division was rapidly run down, and was formally disbanded in March 1919.
Edward Stobart died of disease, and his mother passed away in 1918, the father moved to 5 Cleveland Way, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea where he was awarded a dependants pension of 3s 6d a week backdated from the 23rd April 1918.
Edward Stobart is remembered at Cambois on C6.02 and at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on N10.06
