Editing Eric Partridge (section)

==Early life==
Partridge was born in the [[Waimata River|Waimata]] Valley, near [[Gisborne, New Zealand|Gisborne]], on the [[North Island]] of New Zealand<ref name=Crystal2002/> to John Thomas Partridge, a [[Pastoral farming|grazier]], and his wife Ethel Annabella Norris.<ref name=Matthew1997/> In 1908 the family moved to [[Queensland]], [[Australia]],<ref name=Partridge1963/> where he was educated at the [[Toowoomba Grammar School]].<ref name=CurrentBiography1964p314/> He studied classics and then French and English at the [[University of Queensland]].<ref name=Coleman2010/>

During this time Partridge also worked for three years as a schoolteacher before enrolling in the Australian Imperial Force in April 1915 and serving in the Australian infantry during the [[World War I|First World War]],<ref name=Partridge1963p21/> in [[Egypt]], [[Gallipoli campaign|Gallipoli]] and on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]],<ref name=Crystal2002/> before being wounded in the [[Battle of Pozières]].<ref name=Partridge1963p21/> His interest in slang and the "underside" of language is said to date from his wartime experience.<ref>Partridge, E (edited by Paul Beale) (1986) ''A Dictionary of Catch Phrases:from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day''. Routledge (See Preface to the First Edition p. ix).</ref> Partridge returned to university between 1919 and 1921, when he received his BA.<ref name=Partridge1963p21/>