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Captain
GERALD MONTAGUE HEDLEY
Royal Engineers 

by 

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, PE, MinstRE
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(June 2023) 

Figure 1. Captain Gerald Montague Hedley, R.E.
(Image from The War Record of Old Dunelmians)  

1.  INTRODUCTION 

            The principal references used in the preparation of this narrative were from a number of sources.  They include official registries in the United Kingdom, a number of family trees, Internet web sites, military and civil documents and The London Gazette.  All sources are contained in the REFERENCE section at the end of the narrative and are cited throughout in the ENDNOTES.  Every effort has been made to accurately portray the military service of Captain Hedley.     

2.  FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

Family Information

            Gerald Montague Hedley was born in Medomsley, Durham on 26 February 1885.  He was the son of William Henry Hedley (1839-1899) and Geraldine Katherine Hedley, née Beattie (1865-1930).  Gerald had a brother, the Reverend Percival E. Hedley (1888-1969).[1] 

Early Life

            Gerald entered Prior Pursglove Grammar School in Guisborough, North Yorkshire as a Boarder on 1 May 1895 and he left the school after three and a half years in December 1898.[2]  In January 1900 he entered Durham School and studied architecture.  He left Durham School in 1902 and went to London to practice architecture.[3]  Since he was only 17 years of age in 1902, one must assume that he worked for an architectural firm in London as a apprentice or as an assistant.  It appears that at some point he began to practice on his own.   

3.  COMMISSIONING AND TRAINING 

            Soon after the Great War started in August 1914 Gerald Hedley enlisted as a Private in the 10th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, a unit of the Territorial Force with headquarters in Ravenscourt Park in West London.  It must be assumed that Hedley received some recruit training as an infantryman with the 10th Middlesex; however, as a young man with a degree in architecture he was a suitable candidate for a commission.  It is not known whether he applied for the commission or whether he was invited to transfer.  Apparently someone recognized that his level of education was higher than the average recruit and concluded that he could be of more service to the Army as an officer.  Once it was decided that he should try for a commission he probably was sent to join an Officer Training Corps. 

            Hedley was commissioned a Temporary 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Service Corps (A.S.C.) on 9 November 1914.[4]  He served for a number of months at home, perhaps receiving additional training or perhaps he was posted to one of the many Army Service Corps companies; Horse Transport, Mechanical Transport, Remounts, Infantry Labour or Supply Companies.           

4.  POSTINGS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Army Service Corps (1915) 

            On 29 May 1915 Temporary 2nd Lieutenant Hedley disembarked in France with a unit of the Army Service Corps.[5]  On 23 August 1915 he transferred to the Royal Engineers (R.E.).[6]  It seems unusual that with a degree in architecture he was not originally commissioned in the R.E.  The Royal Engineers could certainly make better use of his education and skills than could the A.S.C.  Perhaps at his own prompting or perhaps at the prompting of a senior commander, it was recognized that Hedley would be better placed in the R.E.; hence, the transfer was made.  Upon his transfer to the Royal Engineers, Hedley was posted to the 29th Advanced Park Company, R.E.  

29th Advance Park Company, R.E. (1915-1917)   

            Advanced Park Companies normally worked on the lines of communication in the theater of operation under the control of the General Headquarters.  The 29th Advanced Park Company was under the control of the G.H.Q. of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.).  While Field Park Companies directly supported divisions in the field, Advanced Park Companies were allocated to corps by the G.H.Q. as required.  Their mission was to provide stores and dumps of goods and equipment to be used by engineer units operating forward. 

            Hedley was appointed a Temporary Lieutenant on 31 January 1916 while serving with the 29th Advanced Park Company.[7]  The company had been in France since 12 August 1914 and had not been engaged in any major operations since then.  That was soon to change.  From 1 July to 13 July the company took part in the Battle of Albert, otherwise known as the Battle of the Somme.[8]  The company did not suffer any fatal casualties during this battle, although it had lost one man on 18 June 1916 during preparations for the battle.  That man was134352 Sapper Ernest Price.  He was buried in the Huby-St. Leu Churchyard.  The Huby-St Leu British Cemetery is 2 kilometres from Hesdin on the north-west side of the road to St Omer.  In 1916 Hesdin became the location of the General Headquarters (2nd Echelon) and the 47th Casualty Clearing Station was placed near the town in July to November 1916.  The fact that the 2nd Echelon G.H.Q. was located in this area provides evidence that the 29th Advanced Park Company probably was nearby when Sapper Price died.   

On 26 August 1916 Hedley was appointed Acting Captain while employed as the 2nd in command of the company.[9]  The company continued to move with the B.E.F. headquarters towards Rouen.  Hedley reverted to the rank of Temporary Lieutenant when the Officer Commanding the company returned for duty.  However, on 9 May 1917 he again reverting to the rank of Acting Captain in the absence of the O.C. and he held this position until August 1917.[10]  These temporary appointments to the rank of Acting Captain in place of the company commander indicated that Hedley was the senior lieutenant in the company. 

Staff of the Commander Royal Engineers, Rouen (1917-1918) 

On 18 September 1917 Hedley was appointed to the rank of Temporary Captain.  This appointment appears to have been made when he was posted to the staff of the Commander Royal Engineers (C.R.E.) at Rouen in place of a Temporary Major G. Spyer.[11]  On 4 October 1917 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of the Crown of Italy.  The Order of the Crown of Italy (Ordine della Corona d'Italia or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civilian and military merit.[12]  Just how Hedley came to receive this order is unknown.  Perhaps while working on the staff of the C.R.E. Rouen he had some special assignment the was involved with Italian troops.  Additionally, on 11 December 1917 he was Mentioned in Despatches, probably for his work with the 29th Advanced Park Company.[13] 

The London Gazette of 6 December 1918 shows his post as Staff Captain (Class FF) to the C.R.E. at Rouen with a rank of Acting Captain.[14]  Class FF was the designation for an Officer for Technical Studies. 

Captain Hedley died at Rouen on 4 October 1918, aged 33, allegedly from pneumonia.[15]  However, it is very possible that he died of Spanish influenza.  In 1918/19 the so-called Spanish influenza pandemic killed between 125,000 and 250,000 civilians and 30,000 soldiers in France, although the epidemiological data are incomplete. The disease spread in three waves from April 1918 to February 1919. The second wave was the most severe in September, October and November.[16]  Given that Hedley succumbed to a respiratory disease in early October of 1918, Spanish influenza could well have been the real cause of his death during this most severe wave of the flu. 

Hedley was buried at Saint Sever Cemetery Extension in Rouen.  Probate of his Will took place in London on 14 January 1919 with his effects going to Arthur Morton Hedley, Esq., attorney of Percival Hedley.  His effects amount to £1,704 and 2 shillings (about $121,200 US in 2023 currency).  Arthur Morton Hedley (1872-1957) was Gerald’s and Percival’s half-brother. 

5. MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Captain Hedley’s Medal Index Card indicates that he was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service during the war. 

Figure 2. The Medal Index Card of Captain Gerald Montague Hedley.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com) 

Figure 3. The 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal with
Mention in Despatches Oak Leaf.
 (Image from the author’s collection)

                These three medals were issued to Hedley’s mother at Felkirk Vicarage, near Barnsley, Yorkshire on 16 October 1922.[17]  In addition to these three medals his family would have received a bronze memorial plaque with his name cast on the plaque. 

Figure 4.  The Memorial Plaque.
(Image from the author’s collection) 

            The last medal that his family would have received was the Order of the Crown of Italy.  The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and The War Record of Old Dunelmians indicate that he was awarded this Order, although no record can be found in the London Gazette to verify the award; hence, the degree of the Order that he was awarded is not known. 

Figure 5. The Order of the Crown of Italy.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia) 

NOTE: None of the medals or the plaque shown above are the medals of Captain Hedley.  The images have been included for illustrative purposes only.

REFERENCES: 

Books 

THOMPSON, A.B. and MOSES, E.W. (editors). The War Record of Old Dunelmians, 1914-1919.  Robert Youll, Sunderland, 1919. 

Civil Documents 

  1. Commonwealth War Graves Book for St. Sever Cemetery Extension, p. 213.

  2. Probate Calendar, 1919, p. 137.  

Family Tree 

Gerald Montague Hedley Family Tree by Stephen Rolls 

Internet Web Sites 

  1. Prior Pursglove College

http://pursglovearchive.co.uk/people/gerald_hedley/

  1. The Masonic Great War Project

https://www.masonicgreatwarproject.org.uk/legend.php?id=1404

  1. National Library of Medicine

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15376356/

  1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/search-results/?Surname=Hedley&Forename=&Initials=G+M&ServiceNum=&Regiment=Royal+Engineers&WarSelect=1&CountryCommemoratedIn=null&Cemetery=&Unit=&Rank=&SecondaryRegiment=&SecondaryUnit=&AgeOfDeath=0&DateDeathFromDay=1&DateDeathFromMonth=January&DateDeathFromYear=&DateDeathToDay=1&DateDeathToMonth=January&DateDeathToYear=&DateOfDeath=&Honours=null&AdditionalInfo= 

London Gazette 

  1. The London Gazette, 17 November 1914, pp. 9406 and 9407.

  2. Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 March 1916, p. 2529.

  3. The London Gazette, 23 March 1917, p. 2865.

  4. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 September 1917, pp. 9627 and 9628.

  5. Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 October 1917, p. 10476.

  6. Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 December 1918, p. 14470.  

Military Documents 

  1. Army Service Corps Medal Roll: 1914-15 Star: 2nd Lieutenant, A.S.C.

  2. Royal Engineers Medal Roll: British War Medal and Victory Medal: Captain, R.E.

  3. Medal Index Card.

  4. Mention in Despatches Index Card, London Gazette, 11 December 1917, p. 13078.  

Periodicals 

Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers.  The Royal Engineers Journal.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.

ENDNOTES:

[1] The Hedley Family Tree by Stephen Rolls.

[2] Prior Pursglove College web site.

[3] The War Record of Old Dunelmians.

[4] The London Gazette, 17 November 1914, pp. 9406 and 9407.

[5] A.S.C. medal roll for the 1914-15 Star.

[6] Medal Indec Card.

[7] Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 March 1916, p. 2529.

[8] Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers.

[9] The London Gazette, 23 March 1917, p. 2865.

[10] Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 October 1917, p. 10476.

[11] Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 December 1918, p. 14470.

[12] Wikipedia.

[13] An index card appears in his records showing the award of the Mention in Despatches, but the page of the London Gazette could not be located.

[14] This is a curious notice since the London Gazette was dated 6 December 1918 and he had already died on 4 October 1918.

[15] The War Record of Old Dunelmians.

[16] National Library of Medicine.

[17] Medal Index Card reverse.