| Regimental number | 2092 |
| Place of birth | Gawler, South Australia |
| Religion | Methodist |
| Occupation | Baker |
| Address | Mile End, South Australia |
| Marital status | Married |
| Age at embarkation | 37 |
| Height | 5' 2.25" |
| Weight | 130 lbs |
| Next of kin | Wife, Mrs Ethel Mary Parham, 18 Henley Beach Road, Mile End, South Australia |
| Previous military service | Nil |
| Enlistment date | |
| Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
| Place of enlistment | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Rank on enlistment | Private |
| Unit name | 32nd Battalion, 3rd Reinforcement |
| AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/49/2 |
| Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A28 Miltiades on |
| Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
| Unit from Nominal Roll | 32nd Battalion |
| Fate | Killed in Action |
| Age at death from cemetery records | 38 |
| Place of burial | No known grave |
| Commemoration details | V.C. Corner (Panel No 6), Australian Cemetery, Fromelles, France |
| Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 121 |
| Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Parents: William and Mary PARHAM; husband of Ethel PARHAM, 'Edgarville', Rose Street, Prospect West, South Australia. Native of Port Pirie |
| Other details |
War service: Egypt, Western Front Embarked Adelaide, 7 February 1916; disembarked Suez, 11 March 1916. Taken on strength, 32nd Bn, Duntroon Plateau, 1 April 1916. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 17 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 23 June 1916. Reported missing, 20 July 1916. Identification disc received from Germany (German Death List, 4 November 1916). No particulars were afforded except that soldier is deceased. To be reported as KILLED IN ACTION 20/7/16. German report, 2 August 1916: 'austr. Sold. Parham, EW. Nr. 2092. austr. Batt. 3/32. Reine ... am 19.7.16 in Gegen Fromelles gefallen.' Mother wrote to Australian Red Cross Society, London, 7 October 1916 (Red Cross File No 2080904): 'I am sending by this mail, a cake for my Son No 2092 Private E.W. Parham, B Company, 32nd Battalion 8th Brigade A.I.F. who as (sic) been officially reported missing since since July 20th. as their as (sic) been so many missing at that time the Red Cross of Adelaide SA tells us that most probably he is a prisoner of war, although we have not yet heard to that effect yet. We see by our papers that the prisoners get parcels & letters through you, & we are in hopes that our dear son will get it through you, if he should be a prisoner.' Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal 'Melbourne Herald' reported, 5 May 1937, that as he lay dying on the battlefield at Ypres (sic), Parham had given his English Bible to a German soldier, who, on his deathbed in 1937, requested that it be returned to Parham's mother. In return Mrs Parham sent his brother, Karl Steinmetz, Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Hindenburgstrasse 86a, another Bible 'inscribed with an aged mother's thanks and her prayer that innocent men might never again be sent out to kill and be killed.' |
| Miscellaneous details | Wife's address (1922), Rose Street, Prospect, South Australia |
| Sources | NAA: B2455, PARHAM Edgar William
Red Cross file 2080904 |