Alfred George Edwards, d.1937
Alfred George Edwards, d.1937
Alfred George Edwards was the first Archbishop of Wales. He lost two sons as a result of the First World War. Two his three wives and two of his daughters also died before he did.
He was born in 1848 and brought up near Dinas Mawddwy, Gwynedd. After graduating from Oxford University he taught at Llandovery College. While there, he was ordained in 1875. He became Bishop of St Asaph in 1889.
He opposed disestablishing the Anglican Church in Wales (separating it from the Church of England), prompting David Lloyd George to call him an “irate priest”. However, he was chosen as the first Archbishop of the new Church in Wales when it was separated in 1920.
Alfred’s first wife, Caroline, died in 1884 and is buried in her home town, Llangollen. His second wife, Mary, died in 1912. His third wife, Margaret, died in 1949 and is buried here. He had seven children, from the first two marriages.
The family graves here also commemorate Henry Laidley Garland Edwards (son of Alfred and Mary), buried in France. He was killed in action, aged 29, while serving as a Lieutenant with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in May 1915.
Alfred’s son Francis William Lloyd Edwards (from his first marriage) was a Lieutenant Colonel with the King’s Royal Rifle Corps but died in December 1920, aged 40. His death is officially recorded as a war death. He is buried here.
Also buried here is Alfred’s daughter Louisa Catherine, who died in 1907. His daughter Anesta Muriel died in 1934 and is buried in Broadstairs, Kent. She had married a Brigadier General.
Alfred’s third son, Ernest Wood, was a clergyman. He died in 1949 and is buried here.