On 21 July 1917, the Newcastle Morning Herald reported that over 50 per cent of Adamstown’s footballers had enlisted and ‘Dido’ Malcolm was one of the players who had lost his life.
Sergeant Edward Malcolm’s body was never found. On 22 December 1916, the same paper reported, “Mr. E. J. Malcolm, Cook’s Hill, has received a statement through the Red Cross Information Bureau Branch, Newcastle, from Private I. C. Collins, now in Harefield Park Hospital, England, saying that he was in the same company as the late Sergeant E. S. Malcolm when he was killed. They were engaged carrying bombs between the trenches in Fleurbalson on the 19th July, and saw a shell burst right in front of Sergeant Malcolm, killing him instantly. He also states that he was a fine fellow in his work, and always liked by his men.”
On 20 July 1916, during the Battle of Fromelles, he was reported missing. On 23 July 1917, a Court Of Enquiry officially pronounced him killed in action. He was 21 years of age.