Sergeant John Albert C Hewitt  3rd London Regiment Royal Fusiliers

PictureJames Hewitt
The Man   John Albert C Hewitt was born on 16th August 1905 at Eton, son of Albert, an Art Metal Smith and Lucy.  He was one of five children, Florence born in 1900, Arthur 1903, a sister born in 1911 and another unknown sibling who died very young. His religion was Baptist.  By the time of the 1911 census the family were living at 271 Kilburn Lane, London. It is not known where John attended school but his occupation was a Coal Merchant and on 5th November 1923 he enlisted into the 3rd Battalion London Regiment Royal Fusiliers Territorial Army at the Drill Hall 209, Harrow Road in London with service number 6538892.  During the third quarter of 1930 he married Winifred Gurr in Hendon and they lived at Orchard Cottage, High Street, Iver, Buckinghamshire.  By 1933 he had been promoted to Sergeant and following the outbreak of World War II on 3rd September 1939 John was embodied into the Royal Pioneer Corps with the same service number.  On 9th March 1940 John was sent as part of the British Expeditionary Force to France and would have been involved in the retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk where he was evacuated back to the UK on 31st May 1940.  John remained in the UK for the rest of the War and was discharged on 25th November 1944 aged 39 and having served a total of 21 years and 20 days, 5 years 165 days of which were embodied.  He was discharged on ceasing to fulfil Army physical requirements Para 390 (xvi) Kings Regulations.  He was awarded two further clasps to his Efficiency Medal, the 1939-45 Star, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45.  John died in Cheltenham during the third quarter of 1978 aged 73. 
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1939-45 Star. Defence Medal. War Medal 1939-45. Efficiency Medal 'Territorial' and two bars.
The Story   The medal group awarded to John Albert C Hewitt were acquired from E-Bay on 4th June 2016 following a private deal with a seller in Holland.   The group aroused interest due to the slightly unusual inclusion of a George V Efficiency Medal with two clasps, rather than the more normal George VI, indicating John Hewitt had been a pre-war Territorial.  Additionally it had a good quality picture of the recipient wearing his Efficiency Medal and clearly displaying the George V head, together with his pay book and some related paperwork that, together with Ancestry.UK allowed the above biography to be pieced together.
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John Hewitt's World War II Medal Issue Certificate showing the award of the 1939-45 Star, Defence & War Medals.
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John & Winifred Hewitt 1940.
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Further correspondence confirming the three World War II awards.
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Reverse of John Hewitt's 1939-45 Star. All of his World War II medals were named similarly.
Medal Details:
  • 1939-45 Star:  6538892 SGT.J.HEWITT 3.LONDON.R
  • Defence Medal: 6538892 SGT.J.HEWITT 3.LONDON.R
  • War Medal 1939-45: 6538892 SGT.J.HEWITT 3.LONDON.R
  • ​Efficiency Medal:  6538892 SJT.J.HEWITT 3.LONDON.R.
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This page last updated   21 Jun 16