2nd Lt
Hector Cyril Walton
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 08/03/1896 |
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Place of birth: Hornsey, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Clerk |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Second Lieutenant |
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Service number: / |
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Units: — Essex Regiment attd. The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), 8th Bn. (Attached) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 09/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Inverness Copse, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 21 |
Cemetery
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The Huts Cemetery Plot: V Row: A Grave: 7 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 1
| #1 | Place of birth |
My story
Hector Cyril Walton was born in March 1896, in Hornsey Middlesex. He was the son of William Edward Walton and Wilhelmina Gotthardt. His mother Wilhelmina was of German descent and hailed from Neu Isenburg in Hessen. His parents ran a coffee house and dining room in Friern Barnet, Middlesex. Hector worked as a clerk before he enlisted for the British Expeditionary Force.
Hector served as a Private in the Essex Regiment until he got a commission on 26 May 1917. A few weeks later he joined The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), 8th Battalion as a Second Lieutenant. On 7 September 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele, Hector’s Battalion moved up to the front line in front of Inverness Copse. In the early hours of 9 September the Germans performed a raid on positions of “B” and “C” Companies. Stormtroopers with flamethrowers gained entry into the posts of “C” Company and captured fifteen men. The attack on “B” Company on the other hand was fend of with Lewis Gun fire and an artillery barrage. After the Germans retreated the Battalion organized a successful counterattack with the help of Lewis Guns and rifle grenades. The 8th Royal West Kent’s took fifteen prisoners of their own.
Second Lieutenant Hector Cyril Walton was killed at 4 a.m. on the 9th of September 1917. He fell during the preliminary bombardment on the 8th Battalion’s position at Inverness Copse. The twenty-one-year old was buried in The Huts Cemetery.
Hector served as a Private in the Essex Regiment until he got a commission on 26 May 1917. A few weeks later he joined The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), 8th Battalion as a Second Lieutenant. On 7 September 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele, Hector’s Battalion moved up to the front line in front of Inverness Copse. In the early hours of 9 September the Germans performed a raid on positions of “B” and “C” Companies. Stormtroopers with flamethrowers gained entry into the posts of “C” Company and captured fifteen men. The attack on “B” Company on the other hand was fend of with Lewis Gun fire and an artillery barrage. After the Germans retreated the Battalion organized a successful counterattack with the help of Lewis Guns and rifle grenades. The 8th Royal West Kent’s took fifteen prisoners of their own.
Second Lieutenant Hector Cyril Walton was killed at 4 a.m. on the 9th of September 1917. He fell during the preliminary bombardment on the 8th Battalion’s position at Inverness Copse. The twenty-one-year old was buried in The Huts Cemetery.
Sources 5
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"The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment: 1914-1919", Atkinson C.T., London, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1924, pg. 281-283. Sources used |
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Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/ Further reference |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/156909/walton,-hector-cyril/ Sources used |
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The Long, Long Trail https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/ Sources used |
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War Diary The Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), 8th Bn. http://www.nmarchive.com/ Further reference |