Campden Voices 

by Paul R. Hughes, 10 November, 2006

William Charles Hedges was born at Chipping Campden in 1893 and was baptised at St James Church. He was the son of Fred and Elizabeth A. (Bess) Hedges who were living at Paul’s Pike. He was raised in the town with his brothers and sister, Leonard, Joseph, Harry and Nora (who married Gerry Howell). After leaving school he worked on the Harrowby estate at Aston-sub-edge. He later went to work for the Earl of Harrowby at his estate in Sandon, Staffordshire. Early in 1915 a number of men from the Campden area enlisted into the 10th battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment. These included William and his cousin Tom Smith. Eight months later both William and Tom would be dead, killed in their first action in the front line in France.

After a short period of training in England at Longbridge, near Warminster, William entered France on 9th August 1915. The 10th Glosters were to attack the German trenches north of the coal-mining city of Lens near a village called Loos-en-Gohelle. The ground was very flat and the attack would see the first use of poison gas by the British Army. The Battle commenced on 25th September 1915. William and Tom enlisted together, they left the trenches together and would die together. The attack by the 10th Glosters began at 6-30am. It was not successful and the bodies of William and Tom could not be recovered. Their names are now recorded on the Loos Memorial situated at Dud Corner Cemetery on the old German front line near Loos. The memorial records the names of 20,000 officers and men who died in the area and whose graves could not be identified.  William’s cousin, Charles Hedges, died at Loos in October 1915 and he also has his name recorded on the memorial.
After the war William’s parents moved to 4 Aston Road, Chipping Campden. Fred and Bess were to put their son’s name forward for inclusion on war memorials at Chipping Campden, Aston-sub-edge, Mickleton and Sandon. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records show that Private 17514 William Charles Hedges, 12 Platoon, C Company, 10th battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment was killed in action on Saturday 25th September 1915 aged 22.