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Perhaps one of the most evocative images of the Titanic disaster is that of a young newsboy
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selling papers to people desperate for news outside the White Star Line offices at Oceanic
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House in Coxspur Street, London. That boy was Edward John Parfitt, known as Ned, and his short life was no less remarkable
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and his death just as tragic as that of the Titanic whose story he heralded on a street
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corner that day in April 1912. Ned was just one of many boys enlisted to help feed the public's insatiable appetite
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for news about the sinking of the unsinkable liner, but his picture has resonated through
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the decades. Tragically, six and a half years after this photograph was taken, Ned was killed during
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a German bombardment while serving with the British Army in France just days before the armistice
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He was just 22 years old. Young Ned had enlisted in the Royal Artillery in 1916, first serving as a dispatch rider
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before reassignment to reconnaissance duties. Ned lived in Cornwall Road, Waterloo in London, and was one of four brothers to enlist for
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King and Country. One brother served in the disastrous Dardanelles campaign of 1915, surviving to become part
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of the occupation army in defeated Germany. Another brother served in the bloody Battle of the Somme in 1916, only to be wounded and
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gassed at the Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium. The third brother also survived
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Only Ned failed to see out the war. Ned died on 29th October 1918, less than two weeks before the end of the war
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He was killed near Valenciennes when a shell landed on the quartermaster's stores, just
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as he was collecting some clothes before going on leave. After his death, the officer who recommended Ned for special recognition wrote to one of
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his brothers, On many occasions, he accompanied me during severe shelling and I always placed the greatest
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confidence in him. Had Ned survived the attack, he would have been home in England when the armistice was signed
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He is buried in the British War Cemetery at Versailles-Montgré in France
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His oceanic house is no longer home to the White Star Line
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Instead you will find luxury apartments. Ned Parfitt's story is a poignant reminder of the countless young lives affected by both
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the Titanic disaster and the Great War. His bravery and sacrifice will never be forgotten
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In memory of Ned Parfitt and all those who served. For more UN videos visit www.un.org
