John Edwards and his brother Albert were teammates at Astley soccer club, located in the Brisbane suburb of Clayfield. They enlisted together in August 1915 and were promptly selected an Enoggera Camp XI for a pair of soccer friendlies. While other members of the squad were said to have played for teams such as Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Belfast Athletic and Hearts of Midlothian, the Edwards brothers were simply said to have come from Brisbane.
Their Enoggera Camp side played against Brisbane City in October, and the troops of the Exhibition Camp a month later. Edwards was picked to play centre half and Albert as centre forward. Brisbane City won the first game 2-0, but no score was ever published for the inter-camp game in November.
The brothers were allocated to the 41st Battalion and departed for Europe in France 1916, after which their paths diverged. Albert earned a Distinguished Service Medal, but returned injured to Australia in 1917. John lasted the war but returned with life-long consequences. John Edwards left England for France at the end of November 1916. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in January. Further promotions followed, to Corporal and Lance Sergeant while his 1917 was only interrupted by a bout of illness in June. Otherwise, his records are sparse.
His luck ran out in April 1918 when he was shot in the thigh and testicles. This led to evacuation to Portsmouth. Edwards saw out the war in English hospitals before finally returning to Australia in early 1919. On return to Australia, Edwards married Louisa Dean in 1919. The couple would have no children.
It appears by 1930 Edwards became a lay preacher and Sunday School Director at St Johns in Hendra, with Louisa the secretary of the church’s Ladies Guild. The pair also won awards for their roses and carnations at the Hendra Flower Show in the 1930s.
Edwards died in 1958, while Louisa died in 1987.