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Remembering the sacrifices of the Hedley boys

52 young men from a small town signed up to fight in the First World War
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(Photo courtesy of the Hedley Museum)

Except for the persistent, meticulous research of Andy English and Jennifer Douglass, the intriguing World War I story of the “Hedley Machine Gun Boys” might have remained lost forever.

Fifty-two young men, many of them working in the Nickel Plate Mine, signed up and went to war.

Eleven gave their lives to the battle to combat the German Kaiser’s armies. They fought in the Battle of the Somme, at Vimy Ridge, and also Ypres. Many of those who returned had been gassed and wounded.

Most suffered from shock.

For Hedley, a town of 400, it meant the loss of wonderful human potential.

It was Andy who initiated the research in approximately 2012. He had grown up in a family familiar with war. “Much of the Battle of Britain took place over Surrey, where my family lived,” he said.

When the German bombers came, the family rushed inside and hid in their “air raid shelter,” a reinforced table. Their home suffered blown out windows and a cracked foundation.

“While I was growing up, the family talked about war a lot.”

Jennifer’s background is radically different. Her father, best selling author James Douglass, is a well known antiwar activist.

Her grandfather four generations ago was in the Confederate cavalry.

Hedley involvement in the war began when William Liddicoat signed up in the summer of 1914. “After the war, he again worked in the mine and then started a dairy farm in Keremeos on what is now Liddicoat Drive.”

At least 10 more signed up before Travers Lucas, an army captain and recruiter came to town in August 1915. Deeply moved by Lucas’ presentation, another 17 young men signed up.

One of the men, Alec Jack, a bank clerk, walked out of the bank and enlisted. He would later win the Military Cross and become a company commander. Another recruit, Bert Schubert, worked at Schubert’s Merchandise. Jack Lorenzetto, the only one born in Hedley, was of Aboriginal/Italian descent and had grown up on the local reserve. He was conscripted in 1918. In a letter home he mentioned he was the second best shooter in his unit. Tragically, he was killed by shell fire just before the war ended.

When the men recruited by Lucas departed for Penticton in five banner bedecked cars, the whole town turned out to bid them farewell. The Stamp Mill whistle blared, they rang the fire bell and also the school bell.

The town band played rousing music to send them off.

Later the Hedley Cenotaph was sited on the very spot where they gathered for the departure.

Many of the Hedley Boys became part of the 54th Battalion.

Probably due to their mining experience, some were assigned to the Canadian Engineers. The Hedley Boys wrote numerous letters, some to family and friends and others to the Hedley Gazette. “Their letters were wonderfully descriptive,” Andy said. “There was a deep sense of identification with Hedley and the Similkameen Valley. Even those who had come from England referred to each other as Hedleyites. They mentioned Hedley in every letter.”

“A number of the letters expressed appreciation for the socks knitted by the ladies,” Jennifer added. “They were also thankful to the people of Hedley and the Nickel Plate mine for Christmas packages.”

The Hedley contingent developed close relationships. When Ebenezer Vans died of illness in England, his unit put together the funds to buy a headstone for his grave site.

They were called the Hedley Machine Gun Boys because a number were assigned to a machine gun unit. Most were accustomed to hard work in the mines. They were strong and fit, able to carry the heavy guns. It was a dangerous assignment, due to the enemy’s determined efforts to silence these effective weapons. Because it was so hazardous, toward the end the machine gunners were called “the Suicide Club.”

Private Sid Edwards, a machine gunner, was the first Hedley boy killed. After his death the people of Hedley raised money to buy Lewis machine guns. The initial campaign raised $3,500, sufficient to buy three guns. In all, 11 Hedley Boys sacrificed their lives in World War I, a very high ratio compared to other units.

On Nov. 11, the Cenotaph will again remind us of the Hedley Machine Gun boys, and all who have served over the years, and the high price they paid to preserve our freedom.

Related: Historian brings colour to the lives of Similkameen men on the battlefield

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The Hedley war memorial is one of the oldest, and perhaps the first, erected in Canada. Due to historian Andy English’s research and efforts, it was restored in 2017. Photo Andy English


Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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