I actual have the medal group to his Commanding Officer in the 330th Siege Battery, Major F.J.C. Hindson. 

Wyndham-Lewis did not like his CO; from the biography of him, "Some kind of Genius: A life of Wyndham-Lewis" commenting:

"..He had a new Commanding Officer. Captain F.J.C. Hindson was a native of Hull. Lewis railed to (his friend) Pound about the 'ways of the Army, in giving such unspeakable, foolish and dismal muck a Battery'. As he wrote the C.O. was close by.."

I think this was because Hindson wasn't "his" kind of people and he may have been a little resentful; Hindson had been promoted from the ranks, and had surpassed Wyndham-Lewis in rank very quickly, becoming Major soon after the passage above. He was also awarded an MC for his work as Battery CO.

He bears more than a passing resemblance to the Officer in "A Battery Shelled".

Sergeant Hindson

Lieutenant Hindson

Hindson's Medals

9 hours ago, dsowerby said:

He bears more than a passing resemblance to the Officer in "A Battery Shelled"

@dsowerbyA good observation

9 hours ago, dsowerby said:

I actual have the medal group to his Commanding Officer in the 330th Siege Battery, Major F.J.C. Hindson. 

@dsowerbyAn interesting group... a Military Cross, a Territorial War Medal and  a Territorial Efficiency Medal.

I can see he was commissioned 1st July 1915 

To have completed 12 years service before commissioning am I right in thinking he would have had to have joined in 1903 at he latest. He would therefore have been a pre Territorial Force Gunner in the RGA Volunteers ?

Hi Ian, he was indeed an old Volunteer. 

Born in 1885, he attested as a Gunner with the "Sunk Island Battery" of the East Riding RGA on the 17th March 1903. He gained rapid promotion, Bombardier in April 1904, Corporal in May 1905 and Sergeant in August 1906. In 1913 he was made the CQMS. He got his TFEM in that rank in AO 293 of the 1st August 1915, so a nice early GV TFEM before the double-time really kicked in. He was lucky to get it, as he was selected for commission before August, becoming 2nd Lieutenant on the 26th July 1915 (dated to the 1st in the LG).

There must have been something about him, as it was only a year or so later that he was an Acting Captain, then Acting Major, in charge of a Battery. It's probably these kind of details that irked Wyndham-Lewis. He was mentioned in Blasting and Bombardiering when Wyndham-Lewis was seconded to the Canadians:

“…The O.C. seconded me. How he knew how to do it I cannot imagine, as in civilian life he was probably a Bank Manager. But he said the magic words and I saluted him for the last time. I turned my back with a sigh, half relief half regret, on the English Army..”

"A Battery Shelled" is supposed to be the 330th Siege Battery at Whytschaete (known as "White Sheet" to the Gunners) so the chances are this is Hindson (known as "Jim" to his friends, despite being Frederick James Colqohoun).

MC was NYH 1919; presented by the King in 1920.

David

A capable Gunner judging by his rapid promotion, subsequent commissioning, and quickly rising to assume command of a battery. One would imagine someone with a different mind set to military life than the avant-garde Wyndham Lewis. 

It is interesting that he was awarded his TEFM when he was commissioned. An overlap of paperwork no doubt.