Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Thomas Edgar Hatt - won MM like brother Charles


FenClare

Recommended Posts

Dear All

Have discovered that Thomas Edgar Hatt - younger brother of Charles - also won the Military Medal.  Records state that he was with the Irish Guards but the London regiment of it? As far as I know Thomas did not have Irish ancestry - do you think he just got drawn into that regiment because they  needed help? Also does anyone know how, where or why he won the MM?

Regards and thanks

Fen Clare

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thomas Edgar HATT, 590293, M.M. was a Serjeant in 1/18th (County of London) Battalion (London Irish Rifles), The London Regiment, killed in action 21 March 1918, no known grave, commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

 

Edit to add: His Military Medal was gazetted on 2 November 1917 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30364/supplement/11334

 

Edited by HarryBrook
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

In the battalion war diaries here, downloadable for a small fee at the National Archives, there's an entry on October 2nd 1917 while the battalion was at Aubrey Camp - Major-General (unnamed - Gorringe 47th Division?) presented MM's to four OR's including Sgt Hatt. With no further details.

 

Mike

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Serjeant T.E. Hatt gets a mention in Appendix G of the “47th (London) Division History”, by Alan Maude. Appendix G  is a long list of men from the Division who were awarded Military Honours. He appears on page 269, part of the section for men awarded the Military Medal, with the date beside it of the 1st July 1917. The introductory paragraphs on page 244 makes clear that the date shown is that of its appearance in the London Gazette unless it was an immediate award, in which case the date was when the authority for the award was received at the Divisional Headquarters. The lists doesn’t distinguish which date is which, but if the M.M. wasn’t gazetted until the 2nd November 1917 that would tend to suggest this was an immediate award.

 

The same source, (pages 104-105), has the division out of the line between the 13th June 1917 to June 29th 1917. However only the 142nd Brigade moved back into the front line south of the Ypres-Comines Canal – the 1st/18th were in the 141st Brigade – and engaged in very active patrolling.  It wasn’t until the night of the 3rd/4th  July that the 141st Brigade took over the line north of the canal.

 

The other possibility would then be the Battle of Messines, but even then the 141st were involved in the consolidation rather than the initial assault,

 

Hope that helps,

 

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear All

Thank you for this - am doing research with his old school and also local newspapers to see if there is any clue as to how he won the MM. Will keep you updated. Came from an interesting background - father a gardener who rose up to be a florist but gave both Charles and Thomas a reasonable education so that they could be solicitor's clerks. Charles however tired of this and emigrated to Australia - possibly destabilised by the death of his younger sister in 1912 by TB.  Family set up  elaborate tombstone for their dead children -now severely corroded but with an ode beginning "Dear boys of my heart"  The father Thomas only survived about 2 years after death of eldest son Charles. Thank you all - these forgotten heroes shall be commemorated in the Hatt Family newsletter.

Regards

FenClare

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...