Rifleman Hubert HAWARD
Missing, believed Killed 18 August 1915
The Hawards were a long-standing Bedford Park family. Hubert’s father was Sydney Hayward, a designer of printed woven fabrics, born in Lambeth. After marriage he moved to Chiswick, originally 64 Fairlawn Grove, and from 1896, 2 Woodstock Road. His sons, Eric and Hubert were both born in Chiswick, in 1887 and 1889 respectively. Both the sons in due course joined in the family business.
After the war, Eric continued in the trade, and established Haward Studio, based in Woodstock Road and possibly in Twickenham, that developed fabrics extensively for the London retail store, Liberty’s. Sydney died in 1923, and Eric in 1931.
Hubert entered Latymer Upper School on an application dated 6 June 1898 from Miss Pryde’s School. It is not clear how Hubert came to enlist in the 8th Territorial Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, but this was noted in the February 1915 edition of Latymer’s school magazine. The regiment was formed of the Isle of Wight Rifles. It formed a part of the 54th Division, initially employed on coastal defence, but in April 1915 prepared for overseas action and at the end of July it sailed for Gallipoli from Liverpool aboard the “Aquitania”.
Immediately on landing on 10 August at Suvla Bay, it formed the 163rd. Brigade, in the company of 4th. And 5th.Norfolk’s and 1/5 Suffolk’s, and ordered to attack Turkish positions on Anafurta Ridge. Lt. Gen. Stopford delayed the start “to make good losses in his lines” until 12th August when Gen. Hamilton insisted he should proceed(allowing time for the Turks to amass on the ridge). The notorious attack, in which the Norfolk’s, including men from the Royal Estate at Sandringham, lost over 40% of their men, “The Vanished Battalion”, that was featured in the film “All the King’s Men”. The Hampshire’s were less badly off, but the war diary records for the night of 14th August: “The Companies which had held the position retired back to their original position. A large number of wounded had perforce to be left on the ground over which we had advanced”. Whether Hubert is wounded in that action or in the subsequent position in support trenches at Kiretch Tepe Sirt is not clear – his body was never found, as he was formally declared “Missing believed Killed” on 18th August. Losses in each of the Battalions involved were counted in the high 300s including missing and wounded. The Rifles lost 89 men killed in action once the missing men were reclassified “presumed killed in action”. In September 1915 they were moved back to Anzac Cove and evacuated in November.
Hubert is commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Monument at Helles. He is possibly interred at the Lancashire Landing cemetery at Eceabat, but not according to the CWGC list at that cemetery. He never married.