Edward Lewis Wateridge was born in Millbrook, Hampshire, England on 17 September 1886. 

He was the son of Charles William Wateridge (b. 1860), a carpenter and joiner, and Harriett Jane King (b. 1857).
His father was native to Millbrook and his mother to Portsmouth and they had married in 1880, producing eleven children, five of whom would die in infancy. 

Edward's known siblings were: Charles Daniel (1882-1882), Florence Elizabeth (b. 1884), Walter William (1885-1887), George Ernest (1890-1956), Charles (1891-1891), Ellen Martha (1894-1894), Dorothy May (1895-1975), William Wild (1896-1919) and Gilbert Charles (1900-1985).

Edward first appears on the 1891 census when he and his family were living at Roseland Cottage, Redbridge Lane, Millbrook and Edward would remain at this address for the rest of his life. By the time of the 1901 census Edward, aged 14, had already left school and was working. Their next door neighbour at this time was future Titanic fireman George William Beauchamp and his family and it is likely that Edward and George would have been acquainted. The 1911 census shows Edward and his family at the same address and Edward was described by then as a seaman.

When he signed on to the Titanic in Southampton on 6 April 1912, Wateridge gave his address as Millbrook. His previous ship had been the Olympic and as a fireman he could expect to earn monthly wages of £6.

Edward Wateridge, who was unmarried, died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. A death notice for him appeared in the Hampshire Advertiser on 4 May 1912:

WATERIDGE--On the 15th April, by the foundering of the s.s. Titanic, Edward Lewis, eldest son of Mr and Mrs C. Wateridge of Roseland Cottage, Millbrook, aged 25 years.

and in a further unidentified newspaper:

WATERIDGE--In loving memory of Edward Lewis, eldest son of Mr and Mrs C. Wateridge, of Roseland Cottage, Millbrook, Southampton, who was lost at sea by the foundering of the s.s. Titanic, aged 25, "May his dear soul rest in peace."

His parents remained in Millbrook, continuing to live at Roseland Cottage; his father died in 1917 and his mother in 1931. His brother William later lost his life on 22 February 1919 whilst serving in the 2nd/4th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. His last surviving sibling was Gilbert, who died in Hampshire in 1985.