Edward Neil Whitley
Edward was born on 29th July 1918 in Paignton, to parents William Wallace Whitley and Elizabeth Frances Whitehead.
He had 4 elder brothers, William W, Peter P, Herbert H, Claude C and two elder sisters Mary and Dorothea E. When Edward was three years of age the family moved from Paignton to Ashburton. He was educated at Bromsgrove School and Clare College Cambridge.
When Edward left Clare College, where he had been studying Medicine, he worked at The London Hospital during the blitz before qualifying as a Doctor in 1942. On 7th November 1942 he was granted an emergency commission, as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Attached to 5th Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.
In July 1941 Edward had married Eileen Zender Browne, an American citizen in Ealing London.
In July 1943 he volunteered for airborne services and was posted to 224 Parachute Field Ambulance.
Captain Whitley parachuted into France with 13th Lancashire Parachute Battalion on 6th June 1944 (D-day).
The Regiment was tasked with holding Pegasus Bridge a strategic bridge across the Caen Canal north of the landings on Sword beach.
On Saturday 10th June Edward was gravely wounded by shrapnel from a mortar, whilst providing medical aid to an enemy soldier. He was evacuated to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the UK but on Tuesday 29th August
Edward Neil Whitley died of his wounds.
Edward is commemorated on a plaque in St Peter’s church, Buckland in the Moor, and on a headstone, he shares with his brother Peter in the Churchyard.
Watch the Video of the First Battle Action on D-Day
Edward Whitley in Pictures
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Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments are shown alongside each photograph above.