100-year-old mystery solved

DISCOVERED: The grave of 'Ted',a Masterton soldier who died in World War I and who is buried in Hampshire, England. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

In the quiet confines of an English cemetery visitor Don Munro came across the graves of 93 New Zealand soldiers with one, in particular, capturing his attention.

The unusually shaped headstone, in excellent condition, commemorated the life of a 22-year-old Masterton man, known only as " Ted", who had died on November 6, 1917.

Intrigued by this somewhat mysterious gravestone Mr Munro photographed it and emailed it to the Times-Age in the hope someone could put a name to Ted and maybe relatives from the long dead soldier could be found.

Ted's grave is one of many cared for by the War Graves Commission and is situated in St Nicholas' Churchyard, Brockenhurst, in Hampshire.

The Times-Age called on Wairarapa Archive war historian Neil Frances to help put a name to the nearly 100-year-old mystery of who Ted really was and he came up trumps.

Ted was Edward Henry Lawrence, son of William Henry Lawrence and Rose Young Lett, of Lansdowne, Masterton, who was born in 1894. He was a pupil at Newman, Tauweru and Masterton Central schools and worked as a carpenter prior to his war service.

He enlisted in Masterton on February 5, 1917, being given service no.45872, and sailed from Wellington on April 5 the same year. From Britain he was posted to France with the 3rd battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment, in July and was wounded at the Battle of Broodseinde (Ypres) on October 4, 1917, suffering gunshot wounds to the buttocks.

Lawrence was returned to Britain for medical treatment and admitted to the No 1 New Zealand General Hospital in Brockenhurst on October 12 but died of his wounds on November 6. He is commemorated on Wairarapa Soldiers' Memorial, Queen Elizabeth Park, Masterton, as Lawrence, E.