Hedges, Thomas: Service no. 53925

Digitized Service Record

Source: The City of Cambridge Honours Our Veterans

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Summary of Service[i] for Private Thomas Hedges, reg. no. 53925.

Date	Event	Remarks
October 9, 1894	Born	Born at Edmonton, Middlesex, England to Mr. Thomas Hedges and Mrs. Alice Elizabeth Scott Hedges.
October 1908	Emigrates	Emigrates with family to Canada via Empress of Ireland, disembarking Quebec City, Quebec.
October 23, 1914	Enlists	Enlists at Galt, Ontario with the 18th Battalion. He is 21-year-old machinist. Residing at 21 Todd Street, he has prior military experience as a member of the Canadian Militia with the 29th Regiment. He stands 5’7” and has a chest of 36” with a 3” expansion. He is reported to have a medium complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair. He is a member of the Church of England. He has a small scar on the left shin and mole on left hip. His next-of-kin is his father at 12 Todd, Street. He is designated to “A” Company.
April 18, 1915	Embarks	Embarks the S.S. Grampian at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
April 29, 1915	Arrives	Arrives Avonmouth, England for service and training at West-Sandling.
May 1, 1915	Assigns Pay	Assigns $20.00 per month to his mother, Mrs. Alice Elizabeth Scott Hedges.
September 15, 1915	Embarks	Embarks for France and service on the Continent.
March 1, 1916/ March 2, 1916	Wounded[ii]	Wounded at St. Eloi, Belgium.   The War Diary relates on that day:   “Battn in SP [support] trenches. Operation orders for cooperation in attacks on INTERNATIONAL trench on our left (attached). Bombardment commenced 5 pm until 5.30 pm. This was kept up during the night of March 1 and 2 becoming very intense about 2.30 A.M. 20th Can Bn was on our right and East Yorks (Imp) on our left. 5 o.r. admitted to hospital.”   On the 2nd it relates:   “5 AM   Our position as yesterday. Bombardment intense until 5.15 A.M. 18th Bn did not take part in attack. Artillery on both sides very active all night. 8 PM   B Coy. relieved D Coy. At dusk enemy proceeded counter attacks by trench bombardment. This attack was not made on our front. Casualties 5 o.r. killed 15 o.r. wounded.
March 3, 1916	Admitted	Admitted No. 8 Casualty Clearing Station.   During his stay the following notes where recorded in his medical records and are of note for the closing notes by the doctor attending:   “Disease: Multiple Shell Wds 2.3.16.   Admitted [10 AM] 3.3.16.   1. Perforating wd of rt calf e well marked gangrene. 2. Four penetrating wd of Rt. buttock and some smaller wds of thigh. 3. Perforating wound of left calf.   Condition: very shocked – no pulses.   [Anethetized] Rapid amp. thro’ rt thigh. Wide enlargement of buttock wound and of wound in left calf.   Intravenous saline 5 pts [pints] on table.   He barely survived the night and in the morning the whole buttock and part of left calf were gangrenous. I had to excise the glut. maximus almost in toto and the lower portion of the sleius – spoiling the tendons Achilles.   Since then he had gradually gone ahead and the wounds [are now ru] zinc sulphate.   I would very much like to know if he finally turns the corner and gets well.   Signed [G. Huillably] Capt. RAMC SR
March 3, 1916	Leg amputated.	While being attended to and No. 8 Casualty Clearing Station, his right leg was amputated mid-thigh due to the onset of gangrene.
March 20, 1916	New Clipping	The London Advertiser writes:   “GALT MAN WOUNDED IN THIGH, ARM AND LEG (Special to The Advertiser.)   GALT, March 19.—Galt has been fortunate for some time in having few casualties but evidently the 18th Battalion was in an engagement early this month.   Pte. Thomas Hedges, a Galt man with this unit, was today reported as having been wounded in three places by gunshot-in thigh, arm and leg. He is 22 years of age, single, and lived on Todd street.   He has a brother in the 111th.”[iii]
March 22, 1916	Admitted	Admitted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital at Etaples, France. Note the delay from the CCS to the hospital. His condition must have been pretty precarious if they delayed sending him to a hospital.
March 27, 1916	Fever	Persistent fever indicating sepsis rises to 104 degrees F. this date. Fever persists into April.
March 29, 1916	Dangerously Ill	Designated “Dangerously Ill” while at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital at Etaples, France.
March 29, 1916	Admitted	Admitted to Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate.
April 4, 1916	News Clipping	The London Advertiser reports:   “GALT MOTHER HEARS SON LOSES A LEG (Special to The Advertiser.)   GALT, April 2.—In today’s casualty list, Pte. Thomas Hedges, a Galt man of the 18th Battalion, was reported seriously wounded. Two weeks ago he was reported wounded in the right leg and back, and since then his mother, Mrs. Thomas Hedges, Todd street, was notified by the nursing sister that the day after son was admitted to No. 8 casualty clearing station it was necessary to amputate the right leg.”
April 14, 1916	Out of Danger	Reported “Out of Danger”
April 21, 1916	Transferred	Transferred to England aboard the HS St. George.
April 21, 1916	Transferred	Transferred from 18th Battalion to CCAC.
April 22, 1916	Admitted	Admitted to Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital. Taplow, England.
March 10, 1917	SOS	SOS CCAC to Western Ontario Regimental Depot.
March 24, 1917	Admitted	Admitted to Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate.
March 30, 1917	Medical Report	Medical report taken at Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate. Reviews case history. Soldier has lost his right leg to amputation and has lost partial use of left leg. His condition requires him to be invalided to Canada for treatment and eventual discharge.
May 22, 1917	Returns	Returns to Canada via Canadian Hospital Ship Letitia.
May 25, 1917	Admitted	Admitted to the Military Convalescent Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.
June 6, 1917	Wassermann Test	Results negative.
June 18, 1917	Transferred	Transferred to the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.
July 10, 1917	Progress Notes	Service file has several pages of progress notes that may be of interest.
April 18, 1918	TOS	TOS from 18th Battalion to No. 2 Military District Depot.
May 10, 1918	Granted Furlough	Granted furlough with subsistence allowance until May 18, 1918.
September 23, 1918	MOH	Military Orthopaedic Hospital (Toronto) to cas.
September 30, 1918	Discharged	Discharged due to “physical unfitness” at Toronto, Ontario. His “Conduct and Character…” is rates as “Very Good”. He has one (Gold) wound stripe. Trade listed as a “tool maker.”
June 2, 192	Residing	Notation that Private Hedges is residing at 12 Todd Street.
September 17, 1921	Residing	Notation that Private Hedges is residing at 12 Todd Street.
April 8, 1956	Dies	Dies at Galt, Ontario and is buried at the Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Cambridge, Ontario.

Acronyms

AWL	Absent Without Leave: Generally, a soldier would be deducted 1-days pay for every day absent. In some cases, the soldier would be confined to barracks. Sometimes it was a combination of both.
A Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. A1, A2, A3 and A4 were assigned to different units with the expectation that these men would be able to serve with active combat units. See this link for more information.
B Classification	Medical Board Classification that determined your fitness for duty. B1, B2, and B3 were assigned to different service units such as railway and forestry corps. See this link for more information.
D Classification	See this link for more information.
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CB	Confined to Barracks: a punishment for minor infractions.
CCAC	Canadian Corp Assembly Centre.
CCD	Casualty Convalescent Depot: a depot at a base where men, in their final stages of convalescing, would be prepared for duty depending on their rating.
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CCRC	Canadian Corps Reserve Camp
CCS	Casualty Clearing Station: this facility was attached to rail transportation from the front to hospitals on the coast of France
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance
Dangerously Ill	This notation was made in a soldier’s service record when there was a risk of death from his medical condition. The condition would generate a telegram to his next-of-kin.
DHA	Disorderly Action of the Heart
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
In the Field	This term relates to a soldier arriving at an active-duty unit after transporting from England, to France, and then to his duty assignment. The routing varied from soldier to soldier and could take 2-3 days to several months.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin: This was a term used for any illness that could not clearly be identified and typically was related to influenza symptoms.
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength
CAMC	Canadian Army Medical Corp
CCH	Casualty Clearing Hospital
CFA	Canadian Field Ambulance
DRS	Divisional Rest Station
GSW	Gun Shot Wound – this was a generic term for all projectile penetrating wounds.
MD	Military District
PUO	Pyrexia of Unknown Origin
SOS	Struck Off Strength
TOS	Taken On Strength

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[i] The Summary of Service for this soldier is meant as just that, a summary of his service. It is not intended to be an exhaustive biographical relation of his life or his war service. Some information may be deliberately suppressed by the author out of sensitivity to the soldier. Readers are encouraged to reference the actual service records available at the Library and Archives Canada in PDF format if they wish to learn more about this soldier. Such additional information (i.e. hyperlinks etc.) are for informational purpose only and no claim to verification or accuracy is made by the author of this summary.

[ii] The service records indicate a wounding on March 1, 1916. It is possible that it was actually on April 2, 1916. The action of the war diary indicates that there was shelling and Private Hedges was so severely wounded that the medical authorities would not have broached and delay in transporting him to a more appropriate and advanced medical facility like a CCS. A FA would not have been the best place for any wound treatment. See doctor’s notes later in Summary.

[iii] His brother died of wounds to the head on November 10, 1917.