WWI casualty Pair. Hedgcock. Royal West Kent Regiment. KIA day 1 Battle of Messines. Remembered on Menin Gate Memorial.
£100.00
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Correctly named G-18448 Pte JU Hedgcock
John Usher Hedgcock was born in Molash, Kent to Thomas and Bertha in 1892.
In 1911, we find him living in shared accommodation, 4/5 Victoria Road, Surbiton and working as a drapers assistant.
He served witht the 11th (Lewisham) Bn of the Queens Own Royal West Kents Regiment.
He was posted overseas in March 1916.
He was with the 11th Bn on the 7th of June 1917, first day of the Battle of Messines when he was killed in action during the successful attack on Wytschatete-Messine Ridge.
The attack on Wytschaete-Messines Ridge in 1917 was a significant operation in the First World War, aimed at capturing the ridge to relieve pressure on the French and to facilitate the British offensive to the north-east. The battle involved the detonation of nineteen mines beneath the German positions, which caused a massive explosion and left large craters. The British forces, including the II Anzac Corps, IX Corps, and X Corps, launched an attack with support from tanks, cavalry patrols, and aircraft, achieving a successful capture of the ridge. The battle was a testament to the effectiveness of the British artillery and the strategic planning of General Sir Herbert Plumer’s Second Army.
Meticulously planned and well executed, the attack on the Messines–Wytschaete ridge secured its objectives in less than twelve hours. The combination of tactics devised on the Somme and at Arras, the use of mines, artillery survey, creeping barrages, tanks, aircraft and small-unit fire-and-movement tactics, created a measure of surprise and allowed the attacking infantry to advance by infiltration when confronted by intact defences. Well-organised mopping-up parties prevented by-passed German troops from firing on advanced troops from behind.The British took 7,354 prisoners, 48 guns, 218 machine-guns and 60 trench mortars. The offensive secured the southern end of the Ypres salient in preparation for the British Northern Operation.
His parents address as noted on CWGC is “Ringwood,” Beltinge Rd., Herne Bay, Kent.
He is remembered upon the Menin Gate Memorial.
Both medals have original silk ribbons.
