Hedley Catchpole

A Sergeant with 9th Bn., Hedley died on 16th of September 1916 at the age of 21. 

Hedley was born at Kessingland in 1897, a son of Thomas James and Edith Emma Catchpole. He was baptised at Saint Edmund's Church, Kessingland, on 6 June 1897. In 1901 his family lived at The Beach, Kessingland, and later at 16 John Street Lowestoft.

In 1911 Hedley was the Deck Hand Cook on the trawler Auld Land Syne, LT 300, at Newlyn, Cornwall. 

Hedley enlisted in the Army, at Lowestoft, during the early stages of World War One. The Lowestoft Journal of 2 January 1915 lists him among those who have volunteered for Kitchener's Army. A competent soldier, Hedley had already been promoted to Sergeant by the time the Battalion landed in France on 31 August 1915. 

On 13 September 1916 the 9th Battalion were in trenches near Guinchy on the Somme. At 6.20 a.m. they attacked the German lines and were able to capture two lines of German trenches, however, the enemy artillery and machine-gun fire inflicted heavy casualties. The situation could not be cleared up and so, at 7.30 a.m. A Company made an attack on the German strongpoint known as The Quadrilateral, but they failed to reach their objective due to enemy machine-gun fire. By the end of the day two officers and 15 men had been killed and 10 officers and 185 men wounded. 

On 15 September the Battalion made an attack on the enemy trenches with a final objective between Lesbouchs and Morval. The Battalion were to advance at 7.50 a.m. There was heavy enemy artillery and machine-gun fire and half of C Company could not even leave the trench. The rest of the Battalion were held up by heavy machine-gun fire from The Quadrilateral. There were many casualties, including Lieutenant-Colonel Mack. During the day the Battalion lost four officers and 35 men killed, seven officers and 99 men wounded, and two officers and 93 men missing. 

The Army Register of Soldiers' Effects shows that Hedley was killed in action between 13 and 16 September 1916. But the 9th Battalion war diary states that there were no casualties on 16 September.  

Hedley's brother-in-law, Arthur Read, died in 1918 while serving with the London Regiment.