2nd Battn. East Lancashire Regt.), _s._ of Henry Louis Heatly, of
89, Tufnell Park Road, London, Artist, by his wife, Kate Sophia, dau.
of Charles Simmonds; _b._ London, 30 Aug. 1890; educ. University
College School, and London University (B.Sc.), and on leaving the
latter received a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 2nd Yorkshire
Reserve of Officers, 2 April, 1913, and joined at Farnborough. On the
declaration of war, he joined the 3rd Battn. at West Hartlepool; was
attached to the 2nd East Lancashire Regt. in Oct. 1914; went to France
with them that month, and was killed in action at Croix-Barbée, 22 Feb.
1915; _unm._ Buried in the East Lancashire cemetery there. Major
A. A. Sanders wrote: “He was on duty with the company under my command
on Monday, 22 Feb., and at about 2 p.m. he went with an Engineer
officer to visit and inspect an advanced trench which is situated at no
great distance from the German lines. He was talking to the Engineer
Officer, Lieut. Drew, and also a subaltern, Lieut. Daw, of my company,
when inadvertently he must have raised his head above the level of the
parapet, and he was shot in the head by a German bullet. He became
unconscious immediately, and passed away about five minutes later. Your
son has been with my company ever since we left Hursely Park. He was a
very good officer and very brave and fearless, and popular with the men
under his command. I feel his loss in my company very much.” Both at
School and University he took a keen interest in the O.T.C. At school
he was the best shot during his last year, winning the Thompson Silver
Rifle, and shot for the school three successive years in the Ashburton
Competition at Bisley. He gained the “A” Certificate at school, among
the first under Lord Haldane’s scheme for Reserve of Officers, and the
“B” Certificate at the University.
[Illustration: =Henry Francis Heatly.=]
=HEATON, EVELYN=, Private, No. 58005, 20th Battn. Canadian
Expeditionary Force, eldest _s._ of William Heaton, of 33,
Victoria Road, Garswood, Lancashire, Colliery Engine Winder, by his
wife, Anne, dau. of Joseph Barton; _b._ Ashton-in-Makerfield, co.
Lancaster, 5 Aug. 1893; educ. Ashton Church of England School; went
to Canada, 8 Aug. 1913, and in 1913 became Assayer of Silver at the
McKingley Darragh Mine, Cobalt, Ontario; volunteered after the outbreak
of war, and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Jan. 1915; came
over with the second contingent, 24 May, 1915; went to France, 13 Sept.
1915, and was killed in action at Dickebusch, near Ypres, 14 Nov.
1915; _unm._ A comrade wrote: “Will you forgive me intruding on
your sorrow just to tell you how much we, Tim’s comrades, sympathise
with you in that sorrow, and how fully we share it with you. We have
lived, shared blankets and grub with him, ever since he came to us in
Toronto. And we got to love him for his cheerfulness, his courage,
his generosity. There isn’t a man in the section who has ever had a
quarrel with him. On our route marches in training, when we were cold
and wet and tired--almost played out--it was Tim’s smile and Tim’s song
that earned for us the name of the ‘singing section.’ There was not
a nicer fellow, a kinder fellow, or a cleaner fellow than Tim, and I
would like you to know, as I do, that he was an example to us all, not
only in cheerfulness under hardship, and courage under pain, but clean
living in barracks. In all the months he was with us there isn’t an
episode that you would not be proud to know of. And there isn’t a man
that isn’t keenly feeling the loss of our lovable laughing Tim. He was
shot coming in on Sunday morning. Our trenches here are all filled with
water and caved in, and there is an open space of perhaps 20 ft. that
a man must cross to get to his gun. Three men crossed in safety, but
the Germans must have seen and they got him just about half-way across.
The bullet broke his arm and spine, though we didn’t know his spine was
broken at first. He laughed when we went to help him, saying he had got
his ticket for England. But he felt his legs dead, and he knew though
no one told him. He was singing to himself going down on the stretcher,
and never a word about his pain, nor was there to the end. He only
lasted a few minutes after we got him to the dressing station. The
stretcher-bearers say he was the best wounded man they have handled. So
he died as he was, ever an example to the rest of us. And we, who loved
him and miss him hourly in our work and fun, want to offer you, his
mother, our deepest sympathy in your bereavement. And we wanted to tell
you how he died bravely in his duty. Throughout this letter I have used
the name we gave him, the one we knew him best by, though, of course, I
know his real name was Evelyn. In Toronto there is a big firm, Timothy
Eaton & Co., and we adopted that name for him because of the similarity
in Heaton and Eaton. This letter is written by one of his comrades on
No. 4 gun. The sentiments are those of us all; it is at the request of
the others that I am writing.”
[Illustration: =Evelyn Heaton.=]
=HEATON, WILLIAM=, Private, No. 5698, 3rd Battn. Coldstream
Guards, eldest _s._ of William Heaton, of 1/11, Stoke Street,
Birmingham, by his wife, Alice, dau. of John Gregson; _b._
Birmingham, co. Warwick, 8 Sept. 1883; educ. Severn Street Council
School, Birmingham; enlisted, 1 Sept. 1904; served in Egypt, 29 Sept.
1906 to 23 March, 1911; went to France, 12 Aug. 1914; died in No. 12
General Hospital, Rouen, 6 Nov. 1914, of wounds received in action at
Soupir; _unm._ Buried in the Cemetière des Brugeres, Rouen.
=HEDEN, ALFRED HOWARD=, Sergt., No. 1226, 13th Battn. (Princess
Louise’s Kensington) The London Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of Alfred
Henry Heden, of 11, Grove Road, Barnes, S.W., by his wife, Hannah, dau.
of Samuel Skeats; _b._ Peckham, 25 Oct. 1894; educ. Wandsworth
Secondary School; was a Clerk; joined the Kensingtons, Oct. 1911,
and on the outbreak of war volunteered for active service; trained
at Abbots Langley, and went to France, 3 Nov. 1914. He took part in
the actions at Neuve Chapelle in March and at Aubers Ridge on 9 May,
1915, and was seen to fall shot through the lungs at the latter, and
was reported killed. Two months later a letter was received from him
saying he was wounded and a prisoner of war; he died of his wounds at
Valenciennes, 25 July, 1915, and was buried there; _unm._
[Illustration: =Alfred Howard Heden.=]
=HEDGE, LEONARD AUGUSTUS=, L.-Corpl., No. 2471, and Dispatch
Rider, 2nd Montgomery Yeomanry (T.F.), 3rd _s._ of the late
Charles Edward Hedge, of Stoke-on-Trent, Brewer, by his wife, Mary Ann
(54, Broomhill Road, Ipswich), dau. of George Thomas William Mugliston,
M.D., of Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex; _b._ Stoke-on-Trent, 14
June, 1888; educ. Dean Close School, Cheltenham; and when war broke out
was Senior Bank Clerk at the United Counties Bank, Ltd., Brecon, South
Wales. He volunteered, and joined the Montgomery Yeomanry, 29 Sept.
1914, and was killed in a motor cycle accident at Welshpool, co. Salop,
16 June, 1915, while going through his course of training; _unm._
[Illustration: =Leonard Augustus Hedge.=]
=HEDGES, HENRY THOMAS=, Private, R.M.L.I., Po. 8916, H.M.S. Good
Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=HEDGES, HERBERT=, Private, No. 9798, 1st Battn. East Kent Regt.
(The Buffs); served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; died
20 Oct. 1914, of wounds received in action.
=HEDGES, RONALD EGERTON=, Rifleman, No. 2869, 12th Battn. (The
Rangers) The London Regt. (T.F.), 2nd _s._ of Frederick John
Hedges, of The Shrubberies, George Lane, South Woodford, by his
wife, Charlotte Elizabeth, dau. of John Abraham, of Dunstable, Beds;
_b._ South Woodford, co. Essex, 9 Dec. 1896; educ. Woodford
College and Loughton School; was a Marine Engineer; volunteered on the
outbreak of war and joined the London Rangers, 9 Sept. 1914; went to
France, 9 March, 1915, and was killed in action at the Second Battle of
Ypres, 29 April, 1915; _unm._ Buried at Verlórenhock. His Adjutant
wrote of him that: “He was brave and cheerful, one of our best ... a
keen soldier, eager at all times to do his duty.”
=HEELEY, ARNOLD=, Private, No. 3426, 3rd Battn. Coldstream Guards,
_s._ of Abraham Heeley, of 20, Eastfield Place, Sutton Mill,
near Keighley, Yorks; _b._ co. York; enlisted 10 March, 1900;
served in South Africa, 15 April, 1902, to 4 Oct. 1902 (Queen’s medal
with two clasps, “Cape Colony,” “South Africa, 1902”), and in Egypt,
16 Jan. 1908 to 23 March, 1911; obtained his discharge, 9 March,
1912; re-enlisted following the outbreak of the European War, 22 Aug.
1914; went to France, 11 Sept., and died 23 Oct. following, of wounds
received in action at St. Julien; _unm._ Buried in St. Julien
Churchyard.
=HEFFERNAN, WILLIAM PATRICK=, 2nd Lieut., 3rd Battn. Royal Irish
Regt., attached 1st Gloucesters, 2nd _s._ of William Kickham
Heffernan, of Riversdale, Killenaule, co. Tipperary, and Harlow Moor
Drive, Harrogate, M.D., J.P. co. York; _b._ Riversdale, 10 Dec.
1885; educ. Ampleforth College, Yorkshire, and Trinity College, Dublin,
where he took honours in Mathematics. On leaving Trinity he settled
down at Brittas Cashel, co. Tipperary, and kept a number of hunters,
but on the outbreak of war applied for a commission, and was gazetted
to the 3rd Reserve Battn. of the Royal Irish Regt. 15 Aug. 1915, being
later attached to the Gloucesters. He was wounded at La Bassée in Feb.
and was invalided to the Hospital de Cimiz, Nice, but rejoined, and
was killed in action at Festubert, 9 May, 1915, leading the company,
his company officer having been previously killed. While at Trinity he
won a number of prizes, including the ’Varsity heavyweight at boxing
and the Viceroy’s quarter-mile, which in 1911 he did in 51 seconds.
Lieut. Heffernan was a regular follower of the Tipperary Hounds, and
was noted in the south of Ireland as a keen and fearless rider in the
Point-to-Point.
[Illustration: =William Patrick Heffernan.=]
=HEGARTY, DENNIS=, A.B., 234197, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship
was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.
=HELLIWELL, JOSEPH GRANT=, B.A.Sc., Capt., 1st Battn. 1st
Infantry Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force, 2nd _s._ of
Grant Helliwell, of 526, Confed. Life Building, Toronto, Canada,
Architect, by his wife, Anna Maria, dau. of the late Isaac James Biggs
Fitzsimons; _b._ Toronto, 26 Nov. 1888; educ. Toronto Public
School, Collegiate Institute, and Toronto University, from which he
graduated in the department of applied science with the degree of
B.A.Sc. in 1910, and was an engineer. He was a member of the Cadet
Corps at Jarvis Street Collegiate and of the Engineers Corps at the
University, in which he held rank of Lieut., and joined the 21st (Essex
Fusiliers) Regt. at Windsor, Ontario, in 1911. After taking his course
at London, Ontario, he was gazetted Capt., 1 April, 1912, and on the
outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, was the first officer in the Windsor
Regt. to offer his services. He left Windsor with his regt. on 21 Aug.,
and after a few weeks at Valcartier, crossed to England with the 1st
Contingent and went into training on Salisbury Plain, where he was
given command of the Salisbury Piquet. They went to France in Feb.,
and he was killed in action at the Battle of Givenchy, 15 June, 1915;
_unm._ Lieut. Brian Henderson wrote: “At Givenchy the 1st Battn.
did the attack. His company and D Coy. were to start the attack. Our
artillery had been shelling the German trench and had made a very good
job of cutting the wire. On Tuesday, 15 June, the artillery opened up
a terrific bombardment of the German trench and kept this up for three
hours when at 5.58 p.m. a mine was blown up. One minute later these
two companies went over our parapet and in a few seconds had arrived
at the German trench which contained only a lot of dead; but machine
guns on the flank were working, also the German artillery was doing
terrific damage and the men began to fall in large numbers. At this
trench Capt. Wilkinson was hit, and Joe took over the company and led
them on to the next trench. An officer who saw him leading his men said
it was magnificent, especially as he thought Joe had already been hit
in the arm. He got as far as the next trench, but was seen to fall with
a bullet through his head. The trenches taken had to be given up as the
supporting divisions were unable to get on, and it was impossible to
stay out with both flanks unprotected.” His younger brother, Lieut. M.
R. Helliwell, is now (1916) on active service.
[Illustration: =Joseph Grant Helliwell.=]
=HELLYER, GEORGE PEABODY=, Corpl., No. 1972, 1/5th Battn. King’s
Liverpool Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of John William Hellyer, of
Western, Kirk Ella, E. Yorks, by his wife, Sally May, dau. of John
Harris, of Brixham, Devon, and the nephew of Charles Hellyer, of
Brixham; _b._ Hull, 24 Nov. 1889, and educ. by a private tutor
there. He enlisted the day war was declared, 4 Aug. 1914; was promoted
Corpl., and died of wounds received in action at Boulogne Hospital,
France, 21 May, 1915, and was buried in the Boulogne English cemetery;
_unm._ Sergt. Benbow, of his Coy., wrote: “I was with Corpl.
Hellyer when he received his wounds. It happened on Sunday, 16 May,
when our company were ordered to charge the German position in front of
us. It was while charging that he received a slight wound in the foot
which compelled him to drop down. I was bringing in wounded comrades
when I found him and a brother N.C.O. dragging a wounded sergt. of
another regt., and I went to their assistance. While doing so a Maxim
gun was turned upon us and poor George got it all. One through the
right thigh and two in the arm. We dressed him in the open field and
then brought him safely to our trench. He was then carried out by the
stretcher-bearers to the dressing station, and it was with deep regret
we heard of him dying of his wounds. He was a true soldier and bore
his wounds with great strength as we fetched him in. He gave us every
assistance and did not murmur. He was quite conscious and cheerful. He
was well liked by the men of his section and platoon, and we all feel
his loss greatly.” His cousin, Lieut. Sidney H. Hellyer, was killed in
action, 28 April, 1915 (see his notice).
[Illustration: =George Peabody Hellyer.=]
=HELLYER, JAMES=, Btn. Leading Stoker, C.G., 308293, H.M.S. Good
Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.
=HELLYER, SIDNEY HANNAFORD=, 2nd Lieut., 4th Battn. The East
Yorkshire Regt. (Machine Gun Section) (T.F.), yst. _s._ of Charles
Hellyer, of Wolborough, Brixham, Devon, formerly of Lamwath Hall,
Sutton-on-Hull, J.P., late Managing Director of Hellyer’s Steam Fishing
Co., Ltd., Hull, by his wife, Jane Elizabeth, dau. of Capt. William
Hannaford; _b._ Hull, 15 Aug. 1889; educ. Malvern College; was a
director and partner in the well-known firm of Hellyer’s Steam Fishing
Co., Hull, leaving on the outbreak of war to join the Territorial
Force. Having taken an active part in the Cadet Corps at Malvern
College, he soon qualified for a commission, and was gazetted 2nd
Lieut. 4th Battn. The East Yorkshire Regt. 12 Sept. 1914. The 4th East
Yorks first went into action on 24 April, 1915, in the neighbourhood of
Pilkem and St. Julien. In a letter, written 26 April, Lieut. Hellyer
gave the following description of this action: “On Thursday night we
got the order to parade in full marching order just as we were turning
in, and we could tell from the bombardment that was going on that
something was doing. We marched the men immediately from our various
billets to our alarm post, which was a grass field adjacent to Battn.
Headquarters in the little village, and were there ordered to lie down
and sleep as we were. Dawn came, and we unstiffened our dew-damp limbs
and got some coffee. I then commenced to shave, and was just wetting
my brush when the order came to march off immediately. In went our
mess tins and gear, rolled our coats, and marched down the road where
(Friday morning) rations (a little tin of beef each, six biscuits,
bacon, cheese, tea and sugar) were issued. A train of 40 London motor
buses came up marvellously from somewhere, and we were run out to a
town which was being heavily bombarded, where we lay down in some
huts. At 2 a.m. on Saturday morning we were ordered out to line some
trenches by a canal which were bombarded with shrapnel at about 8 a.m.
At 11 a.m. we were marched to a concentration point under shrapnel
fire, causing some casualties. At the point of concentration one of
the Divisional Staff Officers ordered me back again to guide up as
quickly as possible another battn. of our brigade, as the situation
was critical. This I did in as quick time as I could, and I was lucky
enough to get back with them to the concentration point before our
battn. was in action. As soon as I arrived back our battn. went into
action in the open (not in trenches) against a section of the enemy who
were occupying a village on a ridge and who were backed by excellent
artillery--by this time I was tired. The 4th East Yorks went into
action at about 4 o’clock on that afternoon (Saturday, 24 April, 1915)
for the first time in the history of the battn., and a bloody battle
it was. We advanced in artillery formation across half a mile of open
country and under a very heavy bombardment both of shrapnel and high
explosive shells, and many men fell--fell absolutely heroically, there
is no other word for it. I would never have believed that hardened men
would have marched on under that bombardment, and these men, already
very tired and two nights sleepless, having carried a load weighing
60–70 lbs. since we left Newcastle, and hardly having their boots off
since that time, saw battle for the first time as if they were just
going to the barber’s for a shave. Three times within 20 minutes a
shell struck the ground near the men I have the honour to lead, once
within 10 yards, and when the high explosive shells strike they dive
into the earth and the end of the world seems to come. They blow a hole
just about the size of the pond in the back field at Lamwath, and the
contents of the hole are blown right up into the skies, much higher
than a trawler’s mast, so high that one has to lie on one’s face what
seems like 20 seconds until all the earth and fragments have fallen.
When one strikes as near as that one is covered with earth, so that
there is a little difficulty in rising under the weight of it. The
noise deafens and slightly stuns one. One shell blew us down in a body
without killing one of us. This bombardment went on incessantly, not a
shell now and then, but all the time shells bursting, sometimes two or
three coming near the same spot at once. After the third time we were
covered with earth, and a man of mine shouted to me: ‘If these B----s
don’t ring the bell soon we’ll go and give them their money back.’
After advancing 20 minutes thus the high explosive shells ceased, and
we went into the zone of the rifle and machine-gun fire, still in
daylight and over open fallow land. They never worried a bit, never
faltered, never even laid down to the shrapnel, a moment longer than
was essential; when they heard the shriek of a coming shell just walked
determinedly on into the jaws of it. Col. Shaw was shot dead at about
this stage. My Capt., B. Farrel, was shot through the heart a minute
or two after. Major Thielmann met instant death, and the man who went
to help him was shot as he rose to do it. When we had advanced in
rushes sufficiently near to the village, bayonets were fixed, and the
Germans went back from the village without waiting for the assault.
It was then dusk. We collected our men, gathered up and carried back
what poor fellows we could, and marched the remainder back to some
trenches about 500 yards in rear, leaving the position to be occupied
by other troops, who dug themselves in. We laid down in some shallow
trenches in a wood in the rain that night too tired to eat. Next
morning (Sunday) we called our rolls, and then marched our weary, stiff
heroes to occupy some trenches about a mile away, 500 yards in rear
of some trenches which were being heavily attacked. We had to march
to these trenches over a shrapnel-swept road, doubling over the most
dangerous portion--at this stage Major Easton and Capt. Easton were
both slightly wounded in the head, just grazes and not serious--and
resting in the ditches occasionally at the sides. The Germans saw that
we were entering these unoccupied trenches and bombarded them heavily.
The trench my platoon occupied was dug in a clean grass field. Before
we had been in it one hour there was not a blade of grass to be seen
growing for 30 yards in rear of it; the front of it we could not see.
A dug-out at one end disappeared in the air. Another dug-out in which
were Lieut. Grindell (a fellow-subaltern of A Coy.), myself and about
five men was blown in on us. I had to extricate poor old Grindell from
the wreckage, and his knees were badly bruised, but he will be about
again in a day or two. As soon as dusk came they ceased shelling us,
and we then set to and worked like blazes to rebuild the broken parts
of the trench. We could also get some doubtful water then, and sent
Grindell to the dressing station. Water has been our trouble. At 11
p.m. (Sunday night) we were ordered to come out of the trenches and
march back to a rest camp five miles in rear, and a terrible march
it was. The road was swept with shrapnel for three of the miles. The
villages which in times of peace had been on it were mere broken
skeletons of their former selves. Many of the houses were in flames.
The road had great shell holes in it, which parties of men were filling
in with the broken houses in order to make it passable for transport,
which crossed it at the gallop. Capt. Morrill, at about this stage,
I think, got three shrapnel holes in one leg. Dead horses, broken
wagons, mules, and occasionally men, strewed the road throughout its
length, and the smell of them was sickening. The men at this stage
were so tired that every time we got into the ditches for a rest we
had difficulty in waking them to move on again, even in the roar of
the shell bursts; many were being helped along by their pals. At 1
a.m. this morning (Monday, 26 April) we arrived at this camp for our
well-earned rest. We walked into our huts, put our heads on our packs,
and fell asleep with the roar of the battle still going on, and our
artillery, part of which has a position near here, roaring away for all
it was worth. I woke 10 hours afterwards stiff and hungry, and with
a thirst I haven’t yet succeeded in quenching, in spite of the eight
pint-mugs of tea I have drunk at intervals to-day.” Two days later, 28
April, his platoon had orders to entrench west of Gedde’s detachment,
between the canal and the Pilkem road, supported by a brigade of a
north country Territorial Division, which had arrived from England only
three days before. He was encouraging his men to dig themselves into
the ground when a shell fell in their midst, killing four outright and
wounding eight, including 2nd Lieut. Hellyer, who died in consequence
of his wounds at No. 7 Stationary Hospital, Boulogne, France, 8 May,
1915; _unm._ His body was brought home and buried at Brixham,
South Devon. Sergt. T. Hurd, A Coy., 4th Battn. East Yorkshires, thus
wrote of his death: “No doubt you have heard of Lieut. Sidney Hellyer
being wounded. I will tell you how it happened. We had been in the
trenches two days, when we received orders to move nearer the enemy’s
lines. Just as we reached the new position and were digging ourselves
in, shrapnel shells burst right into the middle of our company, killing
four outright and wounding eight, including Lieut. Hellyer, who had
his arm blown off at the shoulder, the other arm, both legs and cheek
injured. But wounded as he was, he would not let any one touch him
until all the others had been attended to. I have never met a braver
man in my life, and men in our platoon owed their lives to him time and
time again by the way he handled them. After he fell he still exhorted
his men to hurry up and cut themselves into the ground. I have gleaned
that he was courageously fetched from the exposed position to the
trench, where every possible care was exerted to alleviate his terrible
sufferings. On a trench ambulance he was carried towards the clearing
hospital, but in the darkness the bearers lost their way. No portion or
stump of the left arm remaining, the men of the Medical Corps strove
to stop the bleeding by pressing their fingers to the wounds. At the
clearing hospital he dictated a letter to his parents, telling them he
was wounded, but that he should find his way to England by easy stages,
and not to worry about him. But not one word as to the terrible nature
of his injuries nor of the awful sufferings during the tedious and
prolonged transference from the battlefield to the hospital.” Numerous
other letters from his superior officers and men attest in the highest
terms his lovable qualities and ability as a leader of men in camp, in
trench, and in action. His cousin, Corpl. G. P. Hellyer, also died of
wounds (see his notice).
[Illustration: =Sidney Hannaford Hellyer.=]