King Edward’s School and the Great War

Eric Horace Wood was born in 1889 in Sholing, Southampton. He was not educated at King Edward’s School, but became an Assistant Master there in 1912. He was the only child of his father John, Head Teacher at Sholing Boys School, and his mother, Mary. Eric held BAs from both London and Cambridge Universities, and at KES he was the Master of the French Second Division.

In January 1916, Eric obtained his commission as Second Lieutenant with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Hampshire Regiment, serving with them in France and Flanders. He went missing, presumed killed, on 23rd October 1916, aged twenty-seven. Eric’s body was never recovered but he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.