b. ? 1878 Unstone, Derbyshire. d. 15/01/1940 Sheffield, Yorkshire.
DATE OF EM ACTION: 27/08/1915 Waleswood Colliery, near Sheffield, Yorkshire.
Edward was the second of nine children born to John Leslie and Laura Louisa Josepha Wingfield (nee Elsner). in 1878 in Unstone, Derbyshire. Due to his father’s ever changing employment, the family moved around alot during his childhood, firstly in Derbyshire then settling in Yorkshire. Edward became a stone miner, and in 1899 he married Elizabeth Raynor in Sheffield. They would have two daughters Elsie and Ettie (born in 1900 and 1905 respectively). They moived to Woodhouse Mill outside of Sheffield, and Edward began work at Waleswood Colliery. Due to his injuries suffered in the accident which led to his Edward Medal, he left mining. He became a milkman in Sheffield, and lived at 25 Furnace Lane. Edward died on 15th January 1940, aged 61.
EM CITATION:
On 27th August 1915, at Waleswood Colliery, a descending cage containing 10 men collided with an empty ascending cage. The impact was extremely violent, severely injuring all the men and breaking the winding ropes. The cages were, however, wedged together in the shaft so that neither of them fell to the bottom, though there was serious danger that they might do so at any moment. A hoppit manned by Havercroft, Albert Tomlinson and John Walker was at once sent down to effect the rescue of the trapped men. All the men were carried from the damaged cage along a girder to the hoppit, which made five descents altogether, the rescue taking two hours. During the whole of this time Havercroft, Tomlinson and Walker were exposed to great danger, either from the hoppit being upset by the winding ropes swinging in the shaft, or from the damaged cage breaking loose and falling down the shaft. Meanwhile, Edward Wingfield, one of the occupants of the descending cage, who had both legs fractured and had received a severe wound to his thigh and a wound to the head, seized hold of another man who had fallen half way through the bottom of the cage, and held on to him until he was rescued. During the whole time he displayed the greatest coolness and bravery, despite his own severe injuries.
BURIAL LOCATION: WOODHOUSE STRADBROKE ROAD CEMETERY, SHEFFIELD, YORKSHIRE.
SECTION C1 GRAVE 1658
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
