Lives of the First World War

My mother, Anne Edwards, was the sister of Albert Edwards. She was born in 1896, West Hartlepool, County Durham. She lived until she was 96 and was able to tell me all about Albert. They lived as a family in 18 Uppingham Street, West Hartlepool. Albert was nicknamed Nab by the family and I also remember him as Uncle Nab. Albert served on the Queen Mary as a stocker and miraculously survived the sinking of the ship at the Battle of Jutland. At the time of the explosion, Albert was in the engine room and both my mother and other relatives have always maintained that he was blown out of the funnel and into the water. He was left in the water for a long time and was picked up eventually by a German Uboat and taken to Germany for the remainder of the war. When he returned home, he suffered so badly with the effects of being in the water for so long, that he suffered shell shock and never fully recovered. This took the form of fits and whenever he saw tram lines in the rain, he would be reminded of the sea waves and thinking that he was back in the water, would lie on the floor and move his arms and legs as if swimming. As a result of his experience, Albert lived with his mother until she died and then with his Aunt Cilla who continued to look after him for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, Albert never recovered from his experience on the Queen Mary and was unable to lead a normal life again. Told by Priscilla Schulze, daughter of Anne Cornish nee Edwards.

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