Profile image
Military service
Service number:
C/903
Age:
28
Rank:
Flying Officer
Force:
Air Force
Unit/Regiment:
Royal Canadian Air Force
Division:
1 (R.A.F.) Sqdn
Birth:
June 10, 1912
Roseneath, Ontario
Death:
August 26, 1940
Burial/memorial information
Grave reference:
3. C. 1A.
Additional information
Son of Robert and Prudence Edwards of Cobourg, Ontario. Husband of Ruth Edwards of Toronto, Ontario.
Digital gallery of Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
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Newspaper Clipping
From the Charlottetown PEI newspaper The Guardian. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me -
Newspaper Clipping
From the Charlottetown PEI newspaper The Guardian. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me -
Newspaper Clipping
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Grave Marker
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Soldiers' Tower Memorial
The Soldiers’ Tower was built by the University of Toronto Alumni Association in 1924 as a memorial to the Great War of 1914-1918. The names of those who died in that conflict are carved on the Memorial Screen at photo left. After the Second World War, more names were carved in the Memorial Arch at the Tower’s base. In total, almost 1200 names are inscribed. A Memorial Room inside the Tower contains mementoes and artifacts, and a 51-bell carillon serves as the audio element of the living memorial to the alumni, students, faculty and staff who died in the World Wars. The Soldiers’ Tower is the site of an annual Service of Remembrance. Photo: Kathy Parks, Alumni Relations. -
Memorial Arch
The names of those who died in the Second World War were added to the archway beneath the Soldiers’ Tower in 1949. The name of “F/O R. L. EDWARDS R.C.A.F.” is among the names inscribed. Photo: Cody Gagnon, courtesy of Alumni Relations. -
Memorial Room
Soldiers’ Tower, University of Toronto. Photo: David Pike, courtesy of Alumni Relations. -
Memorial Book
University of Toronto Memorial Book, Second World War 1939-1945. Published by the Soldiers’ Tower Committee, 1993. Entry on page 19 reads: F/O Robert Leslie EDWARDS 1 Sqn RCAF. Victoria College, BA 1935. Killed in an air operation during the Battle of Britain, 26 August 1940. Buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking Surrey, England. -
Victoria College WWII Plaque
This outdoor plaque is located at Victoria College, part of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. “They were valiant in life and triumphant in death. (Victoria University Crest - Abeunt studia in mores). Erected to the memory of the students of this college who gave their lives in the Great War 1939-1945. This tablet was erected by the Board of Regents and Dedicated October 13th, 1953”. Among the 79 names inscribed is that of: “Robert Lesley Edwards”. Photo: Cody Gagnon, courtesy of Alumni Relations. -
Photo of Robert Lesley Edwards
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Biography
Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me -
Newspaper Clipping
Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me -
Newspaper Clipping
Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me -
Newspaper clipping
From the Toronto Star November 1939. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Biography
Excerpt from the program for the Service of Remembrance at the Soldiers' Tower held on November 11, 2019. A student spoke in memory of Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards. Information for the reading was drawn from University records and from a book entitled: All the Fine Young Eagles by David L. Bashow. -
Newspaper clipping
From the Toronto Telegram November 1939. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
Digital gallery of
Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 12 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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