Alfred George Fawdry, born on 16th August 1894, was admitted to King Edward’s School in September 1910, having attended Chigwell House Preparatory School, Edgbaston. Alfred lived with his father, an iron merchant, his mother, Catherine, his sister, Dorothy, and his younger brother, John, also an Old Edwardian, who went on to win the Military Cross and Croce di Guerra as a Captain with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. The family lived at 18, Sterling Road, Edgbaston.
At School, Alfred was House Captain (Measures), and played in the 1st XV, in which he was described as “a useful fly half, severely handicapped by a groggy knee at the beginning of the 14-15 Season.” He received his first team colours following a game against Birkenhead School in March 1914. As a cricketer he was a “stylish bat and a fair field”, although his lack of confidence resulted in many dropped catches. Academically, Alfred and his brother both performed solidly and were regularly placed in the top half of their class, and both were members of the Officer Training Corps. On Speech Day 1911, Alfred performed in the annual Greek play alongside JRR Tolkien, a photograph of which survives among the Tolkien family papers.
Alfred was commissioned straight out of the School OTC as a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd Royal Warwickshire Regiment, and later became a Signals Officer attached to the 2nd Battalion. He was killed at Bullecourt on 4th May 1917, aged twenty-two. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.