Son of Catherine and Edward George Cotton McGlashan. Edward McGlashan was born and raised in New Zealand.
In 1915 he was visiting his sister, Mrs Annie Fuggle of Vacy, NSW, Australia and enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force.
Proceeded from Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 16 August 1915. Admitted to HS 'Maheno', Gallipoli, 7 September 1915 (diarrhoea); transferred to St Elmo Hospital, Malta, 12 September 1915; to Ghain Tuffica, Malta, 21 October 1915; discharged to Lines of Communication, 7 December 1915; admitted to No 2 Australian General Hospital, Ghezireh, Egypt (uticaria); discharged to duty, 23 December 1915; reported to unit for duty, Tel el Kebir, 10 January 1916.
Proceeded from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, 25 March 1916.
Found guilty, 6 July 1916, of conduct to the prejudice of good order and Military discipline in that he used insubordinate expression: awarded 168 hours' Field Punishment No 2.
Killed in action, Belgium, 14 September 1916.
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Mother wrote to Base Records, 20 October 1920: 'I wish to state that his Father is still alive as far as I know but that I have been separated from him, and neither I nor the children have heard from him or had any maintenance from him for at least twenty-three years. Also that I have had to bring up & educate my children without any help except that of my late son, and consider that I have a prior right to any medals etc, belonging to him.' Base Records ruled, 3 November 1920, that she should receive his medals.
His sister, Mrs K. Fuggle, of Morisset, New South Wales, wrote to 2nd Military District, 25 March 1923, asking if she could acquire the wooden cross used temporarily to mark McGlashan's grave, and also asking for 'any books on magnetism or hypnotism by H. Sutta-Suddahana'. AWMM