Edward David G. Crawley was born to Edward and Eileen Crawley in Sydney, New South Wales, on 12 May 1930. He grew up in the eastern suburbs of Sydney with his two younger sisters, Alison and Helen.
Edward deployed to the Korean War with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in 1952. Edward was married before he left to serve in the Korean War. He died of self-inflicted wounds in Tokyo on 6 March 1953, aged 22 years.