Cpl
Walter Henry Hewin
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 03/07/1888 |
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Place of birth: Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand |
Army information
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Country: New Zealand |
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Force: New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Corporal |
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Service number: 10077 |
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Units: — Canterbury Regiment, 3rd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 17/12/1917 |
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Place of death: Polderhoek, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 29 |
Cemetery
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Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: IX Row: AA Grave: 20 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Corporal Walter Henry Hewin served in the Canterbury Regiment, Third Battalion, 4th New Zealand Brigade. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Hewin, of Ruakaka, Te Aroha, Auckland, New Zealand.
The New Zealand Division was in the Polygon Wood area after the end of the Third Battle of Ypres. Much of the time was spent in wiring, repairing crumbling trenches and improving defences. The landscape was covered with waterlogged shellholes. The right of the New Zealand position was enfiladed from Polderhoek and a decision was made to capture the spur on which the ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and German pillboxes sat.
After an unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the line and in reserve. Neither the New Zealand Division history or that of the Canterbury Regiment give detailed information for the December 1917-February 1918 period so it is impossible to say with any certainty how Walter Henry died on 17 December 1917. The opposing German forces generally held higher ground and movement in the New Zealand lines was often observed and shelled or machine-gunned.
He is among a group of New Zealand soldiers ‘Believed to be buried in this cemetery’ at Buttes New British Cemetery at Polygon Wood. His name is marked at a special memorial in Plot IX, Row AA, Grave 20.
After an unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the line and in reserve. Neither the New Zealand Division history or that of the Canterbury Regiment give detailed information for the December 1917-February 1918 period so it is impossible to say with any certainty how Walter Henry died on 17 December 1917. The opposing German forces generally held higher ground and movement in the New Zealand lines was often observed and shelled or machine-gunned.
He is among a group of New Zealand soldiers ‘Believed to be buried in this cemetery’ at Buttes New British Cemetery at Polygon Wood. His name is marked at a special memorial in Plot IX, Row AA, Grave 20.
The New Zealand Division was in the Polygon Wood area after the end of the Third Battle of Ypres. Much of the time was spent in wiring, repairing crumbling trenches and improving defences. The landscape was covered with waterlogged shellholes. The right of the New Zealand position was enfiladed from Polderhoek and a decision was made to capture the spur on which the ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and German pillboxes sat.
After an unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the line and in reserve. Neither the New Zealand Division history or that of the Canterbury Regiment give detailed information for the December 1917-February 1918 period so it is impossible to say with any certainty how Walter Henry died on 17 December 1917. The opposing German forces generally held higher ground and movement in the New Zealand lines was often observed and shelled or machine-gunned.
He is among a group of New Zealand soldiers ‘Believed to be buried in this cemetery’ at Buttes New British Cemetery at Polygon Wood. His name is marked at a special memorial in Plot IX, Row AA, Grave 20.
After an unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the line and in reserve. Neither the New Zealand Division history or that of the Canterbury Regiment give detailed information for the December 1917-February 1918 period so it is impossible to say with any certainty how Walter Henry died on 17 December 1917. The opposing German forces generally held higher ground and movement in the New Zealand lines was often observed and shelled or machine-gunned.
He is among a group of New Zealand soldiers ‘Believed to be buried in this cemetery’ at Buttes New British Cemetery at Polygon Wood. His name is marked at a special memorial in Plot IX, Row AA, Grave 20.
Sources 4
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"The history of the Canterbury Regiment N.Z.E.F. : 1914-1919", Ferguson D., Whitcombe and Tombs, 1921, page 220 - 221, page 300 - 301 Sources used |
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Auckland Cenotaph http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C6851?n=Hewin%2010077&ordinal=0&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch Sources used |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/480282/hewin,-walter-henry/ Sources used |
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Service Records https://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/FullItem.do Sources used |