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Harold Reece Twigg, born on 3rd December 1879, was admitted to King Edward’s School in January 1894. He lived at 56, Claremont Road with his father, George, a paper fastener manufacturer, his mother, Emma, and his three sisters. The family moved several times to places all over the city, including Kings Heath, Kings Norton, Spark Hill and Handsworth.
Harold does not feature in the School Chronicles at any point, but the records show he was in the Matriculation Class of the Modern School, choosing chemistry over Greek as his optional subject, but he was not a strong performer. Ironically, both the 1901 Census and the 1911 Census show that Harold defied the odds and became a Chemist’s shop assistant!
In October 1915 he enlisted as a Private Soldier in the 14th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, serving in France. He later joined the 194th Company, Labour Corps, which had been formed in April 1917 and was primarily composed of men who had been medically downgraded. He was killed on 9th November 1917, aged thirty-seven. Harold is buried at Potijze Chateau Grounds Cemetery, and left his effects and property to his mother.