King Edward’s School and the Great War

Memorial Roll of Honour 1914 - 1918

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Line, Benjamin Charles

Gunner (uncertain) ▪ Royal Field Artillery

Benjamin Charles Line, born on 23rd May 1897, was admitted to King Edward’s School in January 1911 as a Foundation Scholar, having previously attended Chigwell House Preparatory School. His father, Charles, was a commercial traveller selling hygienic paints, and the family, including Benjamin’s six siblings and his mother, Mary, lived at 39, Beaufort Road, Edgbaston. One of his brothers, James, also an Old Edwardian, served with the Army Service Corps in Egypt, and later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, winning the Air Force Cross in 1918.

The School records reveal no outstanding academic achievements and nothing of Benjamin’s other activities.

In 1916, Benjamin enlisted as a Gunner in the Royal Field Artillery. He served as a Signaller in France, and was killed in action on 28th April 1917, aged nineteen. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.