With a father achieving high rank in the army and an elder brother in the Royal Navy, a life in the armed services was in the blood of Edward Wollaston Kitson. His own naval career began in 1903 and he served aboard many ships during World War 1 in waters around Australia and New Zealand, as part of the Dover Monitor Squadron challenging German shore artillery in occupied Belgium and on convoy escort duties.
During the inter-war years, he served in various parts of the world but retired in 1934, but only after moving to Lustleigh a few years earlier. Although he came out of retirement before the outbreak of WW2, as tensions were building in Europe, it is believed that he was initially given a land-based role and spent the next couple of years campaigning to get back to sea which he achieved in 1941.
At the end of 1943, poor health saw Edward transferred from ship to shore. He was admitted to Horton Hospital in Epsom and died there from illness on 18th February 1944, aged 55. The character of the man was echoed in an obituary in The Times which said that “Edward was a man who attracted affection and respect from his superiors, contemporaries and subordinates; his quiet and unselfish efficiency commanded respect, and his sincerity, innate goodness, and sense of humour affection from all hands.”
On Tuesday 18th February 2025, the Lustleigh Bell Ringers will sound a half-muffled peel in his honour.