The Stretcher. Untold Stories of the First World War
On the 7th October 1918 Jack arrived at Beaufort War Hospital with a severe gunshot wound to the chest.
John Edward Hewitt, known as Jack, was born on the 24th of November 1899, to parents Robert and Mary Ann Hewitt in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Tragically his mother died in childbirth when Jack was only three. He had two sisters and one brother when his mother died giving birth to his younger brother George. Jack’s father Robert brought him up, while his younger brother was raised by his aunty and uncle. Even though they lived relatively close to each other they rarely saw one another.
Robert, his father was a coal miner, so Jack very quickly found himself working in the mine from the young age of 13. It stated that he was a pony driver in the mine on his military papers.
Jack was too young to join up when the war began in 1914, but on the 25th of November 1916, the day after his 17th birthday he enlisted pretending to be 18 years old. A reason he enlisted could be because he didn’t have a very good relationship with his father, and he just wanted to get away.
In January 1917, he joins the 3rd Battalion the Notts & Derbyshire Infantry Brigade as a Private, army number 94466. Known as the Sherwood Foresters since the King inspected them on the eve of departure to France. The 3rd Battalion was a training, reinforcement and holding unit. Jack was transferred the 46th North Midland Division, 1/6th Battalion, and on the 19th of December 1917 was posted to France.
According to the Battalion War Diary (British Archives) the 1/6th Battalion Sherwood Foresters was based round Béthune on the Cambrai-Lens Front in Northern France at this time. It was trench warfare, carrying out raids and patrols, firing Lewis guns into enemy positions. They took prisoners and kept up the offensive with the aim of wearing down the enemy morale.
Jack joined war hardened men, with much experience in direct combat, no doubt a big shock and reality check for an 18-year-old miner from Yorkshire. Jack remained there until the end of August 1918 at which point the War Diary has no further entries until the 29th of September when a huge operation took place. The 46th Division, supported by the 30th American Division and 2nd Australian Division were tasked with crossing the St Quentin Canal to break the Hindenburg Line.
The canal itself was a formidable obstacle; for the most part two to three metres deep with brick walls with steep almost perpendicular walls. The German side was heavily defended with lines of trenches protected by a band of wire and frequent concrete and steel machine gun emplacements and rifle points, behind that there was a very extensive network of defences including hundreds of trench lines, communication, train tracks and tunnels. Additionally of course there was also the risk of dreaded gas attacks. Intelligence has it that the Germans felt it was impenetrable and could be defended against any attack, this together with the belief that the Allies would concentrate on the Somme area, greatly assisted with the element of surprise as the Germans did not appear to be expecting the attack.
The plan was to use a creeping barrage which is a wall of heavy shelling by the artillery that crosses the enemy trenches with the infantry men close behind it followed by a line of tanks. The commanders had closely studied maps and aerial photos taken of the area so they had a good idea of what to expect. Jack was part of the assault which commenced in thick fog, assisting the allies along with the element of surprise. He crossed the canal between 11.00am and 11.15am. In taking the Hindenburg line their sights were set on the subsequent objectives to take the occupied villages of Bellenglise, Magny le Fosse and Lehaucourt.
In places however the fog and smoke barrage were not enough to cover actions of the troops and after achieving a number of objectives, the 1/6th Sherwood Foresters led by Lt Colonel B W Vann VC, MC were opposed by strong enemy resistance with the barrage getting too far in front. Vann took it upon himself to rally the men, encouraging and reorganising them until they caught up with the artillery barrage. In the assault of the village of Lehaucort he personally then took on a field gun team, shooting and clubbing the enemy single handedly. The 1/6th Sherwood Foresters took the village and the bridge over the canal, holding them in defence positions until support units arrived.
As if the Battalion had not achieved enough as part of the objective to take St Quentin, the villages of Ramicourt and Montbrehain were next in line and thus an assault of the Beaurevoir-Fonsomme Line and the two villages took place on the 3rd of October. The Sherwood Foresters cleared the Beaurevoir-Fonsomme Line suffering heavy losses.
Moving towards Ramicourt the leading Battalions were the 5th and 8th Sherwood Foresters who appeared to lose direction, so as the new commander of the 6th Sherwood Foresters Major J.A. Sheddon M C pushed the troops through the village, the lead Battalions eventually came to assist.
Following the success, the barrage then paused for several minutes allowing the fighting troop lined up and reorganised south of Montbrehain. On recommencing the assault on Montbrehain was led by the 6th Sherwood Foresters led by Major J.A. Sheddon M C. They met resistance. Street fighting took place. Companies of the 5th and 8th Battalions sent assistance. The mopping up of the village was done by 11.30am. Although a few straggling Germans were still present the few civilians still there came out to offer the troops mugs of coffee in gratitude to the end of the terrible occupation and suffering.
Jack received a severe gunshot wound to his chest. He could have been one of the 42 other ranks wounded reported after the battle on the 29th however, since his records show that he was admitted to the 2nd Stationary Field Hospital at Rouen on the 4th of October. I suspect he was most likely injured in the Battle of Ramicourt on the morning of the 3rd of October. The access to the Advanced Dressing Station at Jeancourt, 10 miles from Ramicourt was quite good by this time. His wound was classified as severe, so more than the Dressing Station could deal with, nor so bad to be un-survivable, so he probably went from there to the Casualty Clearing Station at Tincourt 6 miles away. From here casualties were moved by train. He would probably have been placed on the train in stretcher on the morning of the 3rd arriving at Rouen late on the 4th of October. The medical staff at Rouen then decided that he could not be treated by them, although he most likely will have had the wound cleaned, sutured and dressed. He would then have travelled by ship before being admitted to Beaufort War Hospital on the 7th.
Jack was a very lucky man, he had his cigarette tin and paybook in the top pocket of his uniform, the cigarette tin took most of the impact and although he survived, the tin didn’t. His paybook has tattered edges and bloodstaining as a testament to just how lucky he was. There are no records of his time at Beaufort, but army records show that he must have made a reasonable recovery.
He was not discharged but sent on furlough on the 22nd of December for 10 days over Christmas. It would have been the first time he had returned to Yorkshire and seen his family for some time.
The war had ended on the 11th of November so for reasons known only to himself, Jack overstayed his furlough pass. He was also absent from the defaulter’s parade on the 13th of January. He was given seven days and three days confined to barracks for these offences. I am not entirely certain he returned at all! The record sheet is stamped ‘Proceeded for Dispersal on 12 Feb 1919’ indicating he was being demobbed.
Other records show he was given 1 year of disability pension for having 40% deficit owing to his injury.
Like many he went on to serve in the reserves in the Kings Own Light Infantry for a couple of years.
Jack returned to Castleford and went back down the pit. He is recorded as staying with his sister Minnie and her family on the 1921 Census. He remained single for many years, lodging with a family until he met Florence Bastow. She became pregnant at the age of 23 and the couple married on the 29th of June 1940. Jack was 40. A baby girl named Margaret was born October, she was to be an only child.
Jack’s relationship with his wife and daughter was somewhat difficult at times, I believe this to be likely to be as a result of PTSD. He never talked about the war, the only reference he made to his time in the military was when his son in law Dennis joined the Territorial Army in the 1960’s and took his webbing and equipment to show Jack. Jack showed him what to do and how to fit it. He was awarded British War Medal and Victory Medal, but these have never been found.
Jack was a miner all his working life living locally to Castleford, he lived to the grand old age of 83, and passed away on the 11th of November 1983, Armistice Day.
The Museum would like to thank Eddie Parsons, who volunteered with GHM as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award. He and the Museum would like to thank John Hewitt’s family with whom he liaised to create this post.
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