John Hatch
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
John Hatch was born in 1890 in Coppull Lane, Coppull, Lancashire to Moses Hatch, a brick maker, and his wife Alice, nee Bowden who had married at Coppull on 10th August 1884. John was the third of eight children, four girls and four boys, all born in Coppull (or nearby) and bought up there. By 1901, Moses was a self employed farmer, now living at the Troy Fold farm and in 1911 was working as an excavating contractor laying pipelines. Maybe this contracting work had influenced 21 year old John Hatch, as by 1911 he had left the family home and was living as a boarder and working as a mineral borer at Cottam, Notts. His father, Moses died in the following year aged 54. He was still in the area in 1916 as he had met and married girl from Clarbourough called Betsy Ann Stephenson. They were married in Clarborough Parish Church on 22nd April 1916 about three months after being attested for the Army. After the death of John, his widowed wife married again to Frank Davidson in 1920 at Clarborough.
John Hatch was attested at Retford on the 13 January 1916 and place on the army reserve. He was mobilised on 13 July 1916 and posted to the Royal Garrison Artillery Siege Depot with the rank of Gunner. On the 10 October that same year, he left Southampton and arrived in France the following day. Seven months later, on the 1st May 1917, he transferred to the Royal Engineers, 352nd E. and. M Coy, working on communications. He re-mustered to engine driver (field) and passed with flying colours as skilled on 22 December 1917. He attained the rank of Corporal the following year. His problems came when he was wounded on the 26 Sept 1918 with Gunshot wounds to back, buttocks, thigh and legs. Two days later, he was returned to England and hospitalised at the Military Hospital in Colchester. He spent the next three months in a very uncomfortable and painful time suffering with his wounds. On the day of 14 Feb 1919, he was unconscious and died later that evening, not from his wounds but from pneumonia. His body was taken to his birth town of Coppull and buried in the Coppull Church Yard. His headstone includes his award of a Military Medal.
CWG additional information:- Son of Moses and Alice Hatch of 20,Coppull Moor Lane, Coppull. Research by Colin Dannatt
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