Harry Edwards was born in London in 1893, the son of a printer and one of nine children. In 1907 he left school to begin a seven-year apprenticeship to become printer but was dissatisfied with the career. He became active in politics, but when World War I broke out, he enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment. He returned to England in 1921, married and had four children. He and his wife, Phyllis, opened a stationer’s shop and printing works to support the family. Edwards tried to launch himself into a political career but had no success.
Edwards had no interest in spiritual healing until he attended a meeting at a Spiritualist Church in 1936. He was told by the mediums that he had healing powers. Encouraged by them, he practiced as a healer while running the printing business. His healings were so successful that his reputation spread. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Harry joined the Home Guard and provided healing to members of the Armed Forces and even his own son. His healing sessions continued, despite the bombing of his house and the loss of all his distant healing patients’ records. After the war his fame spread. The family moved to Stoneleigh in Surry and he opened a healing sanctuary in his home.
Edwards claimed that several scientists worked through him, including Lord Lister and Louis Pasteur. The number of people seeking healing increased and Edwards could no longer accommodate them in his small home. In 1946, the family moved into a larger house in Burrows Lea. The house sat on several acres and he eventually created the Harry Edwards Healing Sanctuary. By that point, he was receiving 10,000 letters a week and conducting distance healing.
During the 1940s and 50s, Edwards drew crowds of thousands to his healing demonstrations. In 1955 he founded and was the first President of the National Federation of Spiritual Healers. When the Archbishops’ Commission on Divine Healing was set up in 1953, Edwards addressed the Commission, providing it with documented evidence of a number of successful healings. The Commission’s report rejected any claims of spiritual healing. A study in the British Medical Journal by Rose in 1954 could not verify any of Edwards healing claims.
The reputation of Harry Edwards and Spiritual Healing continued to grow and vast numbers of people from all over the world continued to contact the Sanctuary. Harry Edwards died in December 1976, aged 83.