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PLAQUE MEMORIAL - SCOUT EDGAR MERVYN ADAMS 6 JAN 1921

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1921

Overview

Rectangle shape piece of marble, with an engraved word image on the front side, which has been (filled) painted with black paint.
Panel text reads: [In loving Memory of / SCOUT E. MERVYN ADAMS / DIED 6TH JAN. 1921. / ERECTED BY / HIS COMRADES OF / ARMADALE TROOP 65.]

Historical information

On January 6, 1921, Edgar Mervyn Adams, 12 years old, while riding his bike was struck and killed on Railway Parade, Armadale by a horse and cart. Edgar was a member of the Armadale Scout troop and his father was the local stationmaster as well as on the committee to establish Memorial Park, which was a community tribute to the local men who had been killed in WWI.
Edgar was buried on January 8 at the Methodist section of Karrarkatta Cemetery which was attended by the WA Scout Association, the Railway Department, representatives of the 44th Battalion, which Mr Adams had been a captain in WWI, as well as friends and family.
On Good Friday (March 25) during the Easter Scout Camp in Kelmscott, local Scouts as well as scouts from Claremont, Fremantle, Midland, and West Perth attended a Good Friday service at the Armadale Congregational Church where the plaque to Edgar was unveiled by the Rev. F. Smith, who was also the scoutmaster of the Armadale troop.
This plaque is also representative of a wider story of PTSD relating to reurned soldiers as following the death of his son, Edgar Adams senior seemed to start on a downward spiral that saw him sent out to work at rural stations where he was eventually sacked for dereliction of duty. He also had an affair that saw his wife divorce him. At the divorse trial she clearly stated that he was a different person when he returned from the war.
Further information is in SIG FILE 2016-59

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-COA2016.59

Themes

People
Social History
War and Conflict

Material

White Marble

Width

20 mm

Height or length

307 mm

Keywords

Scout Troop 65 ARMADALE

BROADHURST Harry Redcliffe Mr Dvr

ADAMS Edgar Copley Mr Cpt

Armadale Congregational Church Railway Parade Armadale

Adam Edgar Mervyn Mist

Year

1921

Statement of significance

his object is part of collection that tells the story of the City of Armadale's connection to armed conflicts around the world from the late 1800s to today. The collection explores the experiences of people associated with the City of Armadale who went to war, their experiences when they returned as well as how these conflicts impacted the community who stayed behind.

Comparative significance criteria

Interpretive capacity

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

City of Armadale - History House

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