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| Lieut. Ernest Henry Hewitt |
Died: Between 15/06/1915 and 16/06/1915
Age: 29
Recorded on Le Touret Memorial
Recorded on family memorial in Bangor Cemetery
Mentioned in Despatches.
Ernest Henry Hewitt was born in South Parade, Belfast, on 5th November 1885. He was the son of James Henry Hewitt, a clerk (later manager of Workshops for the Blind), and Jeannie Denby Hewitt nee Marshall. The family appear to move between Belfast and Bangor: Ernest’s brother William being born in Princess Gardens, Bangor, in 1893; the family living in Rosetta Park, Belfast, in the 1901 census; then appearing in Altamount, Downshire Road, Bangor in the 1911 census. (The parents later living at 97 Mornington Park, Bangor).
Before the war, Ernest, along with his brothers William and Holt, joined the 1st Battalion North Down Regiment of the Ulster Volunteer Force, serving in ‘C’ Company, and is recorded on their Roll of Honour.
He was also a prominent member of the North of Ireland Football Club for whom he played as a forward and on whose memorial he is also recorded.
Ernest enlisted on the outbreak of war and received a commission as Second Lieutenant. He was later made temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Lancaster Regiment. He was reported as missing after an attack on the German position on the 15th June 1915.
BELFAST OFFICER MISSING.
The Most Popular Officer in his Battalion
Lieutenant E. H. Hewitt, son of Mr. J. H. Hewitt, the esteemed manager of the Workshops for the Blind, Royal Avenue, Belfast, has been missing from his regiment — the 4th Battalion King’s Own Royal Lancasters (Territorials) — since the 15th inst. Lieutenant Hewitt, who has two other brothers in the army, volunteered for military service the day after the declaration of war. He had previously been connected with the North Down Regiment of the Ulster Volunteer Force. He was a prominent playing member of the North of Ireland Football Club. Major Thomson, who commands the 4th Battalion Lancashire Regiment, has addressed the following letter to the missing officers' father:– "It is with much regret that I inform you that after an attack on the enemy's position on the 15th inst. your son was reported as missing. From the information available it is impossible to state what has happened to him, as it has not been possible to examine the ground where he was last seen. I hope that soon we shall be able to trace him, and get some definite news concerning him. If I do hear anything further I shall immediately communicate with you. The deepest sympathy of all the officers and men of the battalion is with you and your family in this misfortune. Lieutenant Hewitt, since he joined us, has become the most popular officer in the battalion. He was a splendid soldier, and we hope that he will soon be restored to you and to us."
Belfast Newsletter, 23rd June 1915
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LIEUT. E. H. HEWITT MISSING.
The many friends in Belfast and Bangor of Lieut. E. H. Hewitt, of the 4th Batt. King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment (Territorials), will regret to learn that he has been missing since 15th inst. The news was received by his father, Mr. J. H. Hewitt, Allamount, Downshire Road, Bangor, who is the respected manager of the Workshops for the Blind, Royal Avenue, and is contained in the following letter dated 17th inst:—
Dear Sir, — It is with much regret that I inform you that after an attack on the enemy's position on the 15th Inst, your son was reported as missing. From the information available it is impossible to state what has happened to him, as it is impossible to examine the ground where he was last seen. I hope that soon we shall be able to trace him, and get some definite news concerning him. If I do hear anything further I shall immediately communicate with you. The deepest sympathy of all the officers and men of the Battalion is with you and your family in this misfortune. Lieutenant Hewitt, since he joined us, has become the most popular officer in the battalion. He was a splendid soldier, and we hope that he will soon be restored to you and to us. — Yours sincerely,
ROBT THOMPSON, Major,
Commanding 4th Battalion The Royal Lancaster Regiment.
Lieutenant Hewitt is one of three brothers serving in the Army. With several young Belfast men he volunteered the day after war broke out, and was posted to the 4th Lancasters, a smart Territorial battalion, which he accompanied to the front recently. He was a member of the North Down Regiment, U.V.F., and one of the best known players in the North of Ireland Rugby Club, which he has represented as a forward for several seasons.
Larne Times and Weekly Telegraph, 26th June 1915
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MISSING – LIEUT. E. H. HEWITT, 4th Battalion Royal Lancaster Regiment (T.F.), missing in France since Tuesday night, 15th June. Any information gratefully recieved by his father, J. H. Hewitt, Altamont, Bangor, Co. Down.
The Daily Express, Dublin, 2nd July 1915
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THE ROLL OF HONOUR.
THREE BROTHERS KILLED.
Mr. J. H. Hewitt's Heavy Bereavement
Mr J. H. Hewitt, Altamont, Downshire Road, Bangor, Manager of the Workshops for the Blind, Royal Avenue, Belfast, received a letter yesterday from the commanding officer of the 9th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Tyrone Volunteers), which leaves little doubt that he has lost a third son, Second-Lieutenant W. A. Hewitt, who had previously been reported missing. Lieutenant E. H. Hewitt, the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), and Lieutenant Holt M. Hewitt, 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, attached Brigade Machine Gun Company, have already been killed, the former last year and the latter a few days ago. Lieutenant-Colonel Ricardo's letter regarding the third boy is as follows:–
July 6, 1916.
Dear Mr. Hewitt – I hardly know how to write. A letter is such a poor thing. Your two boys were loved by everyone in the regiment. They had such a sunny nature, together with such sterling characters that they were an example and inspiration to all. I cannot give you details of how Holt fell. Captain MacConachie, I am sure, will do that. Your little lad Willie led his platoon over our parapet, and the last I saw of him was his happy smile as I wished him luck. They got across to the German trenches, in front of which they came under an appalling machine-gun fire. Your lad was hit, and Sergeant Lally, who is now in hospital wounded, was with him when he passed over. It was a sad day for us, and I feel quite stunned and heartbroken. Your Willie was one of the nicest-minded boys I ever knew. My wife saw a letter he wrote to the widow of a man in his company, and she told me it was the most beautiful letter of sympathy she had ever read. No one but a spiritually-minded boy could have written such a letter. I made him my assistant adjutant, and of all my young lads I could spare him the least. No words can express the sympathy we all feel for yourself and Mrs. Hewitt and your family in the grievous double blow. I cannot write more.
Lieutenant E. W. Crawford, adjutant of the Tyrone Battalion, has also written a sympathetic letter to Mr. Hewitt, and states – "The whole attack was the most heroic thing possible. The Divisional General, speaking of it, said it was the most gallant and heroic incident of the war. The pity of it was we lost our best, both officers and men."
Belfast Newsletter, 12th July 1916
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THREE BANGOR BROTHERS KILLED
Memorial Tablet Unveiled.
The unveiling of a memorial tablet commemorating the heroic deaths of Lieutenant E. H. Hewitt the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), and his brothers, Lieutenant Holt M. Hewitt and Second-Lieutenant. W. A. Hewitt, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, took place at the morning service in Bangor Parish Church on Sunday. There was a large congregation, and amongst those present were Mr. J. H. Hewitt, father of these gallant boys, and other relatives. Lieutenant Hewitt was killed on 15th June, 1915, and his brothers fell on that day of glorious but sad memories, the 1st July, 1916.
The tablet was unveiled by the Lord Bishop of Derry and Raphoe (Right Rev. J. I. Peacocke), who was a former rector of Bangor, and was an intimate friend of the family. After the second lesson his Lordship, with the rector (Rev. J. A. Carey) proceeded to the west wall, where he read the dedicatory prayers. In the course of a loving tribute to their memory, his Lordship said he was proud to have known such boys. They had fallen in the service of their country, and it was but fitting that their memories should be perpetuated in the church in which they were wont to worship. Their noble lives and heroic deaths would long be remembered in the parish and far beyond its bounds. His Lordship also referred feelingly to the death of Captain Richard I. Robson, another member of the congregation, who fell in battle a few days ago. The hymn, "For all the saints who from their labours rest," was sung in place of the anthem. The memorial brass has been erected by Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt.
Belfast Newsletter, 15th August 1917
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