Edmund Henry Elwin was born on 18 September 1871 and educated at Dover College

Dover College

Dover College is a co-educational independent school in Dover in southeast England. It was founded in 1871, and takes both day pupils and boarders....

 and Merton College Oxford where he gained a third class degree in Theology. Later he studied at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, a theological training college in the Evangelical tradition.

After his curacy in Oxford, Edmund Elwin became a missionary in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 and soon became Vice Principal of Fourah Bay College which was affiliated to Durham University

Durham University

The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

. He eventually became Principal and Secretary of the Sierra Leone Mission; when the then Bishop of Sierra Leone became Chaplain General to the British Forces, Elwin was appointed his successor, being consecrated Bishop on 25 January 1902.

Edmund Elwin died of Yellow Fever in Sierra Leone on the 10th November 1909, a few weeks before being due to return to England as the appointed Bishop of Bristol. He was the father of Verrier Elwin

Verrier Elwin

Verrier Elwin was a self-trained anthropologist, ethnologist and tribal activist, who began his career in India as a Christian missionary...

.