Edward was the fifth son of Mr. and Mrs. G. Veitch, of Barney Street, Parramatta. He was also son-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. G. F. Hughes, of Marsden Street, Parramatta. He was taken on strength 31 August and appears to have served with the 20 Battalion at Gallipoli and in Egypt.
He was wounded twice in France and in a letter to his mother wrote of “This Land of Hell” where … nearly every one of us got wounded. I was the first, so as soon as I got hit I started to try to find my way back to our trenches again, but this was the hardest thing I had to try to find in my life. It took me a good hour. I had to keep dodging in and out of shell holes 10ft deep and shells were falling all around me… I gave up in despair and laid in a shell hole to await morning.
Geoff Barker, research and Collection Services Coordinator, Parramatta City Council Heritage Centre, 2015