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In memory of
Sergeant
FREDERICK
HOBSON
who died on August 18, 1917
Lens, France
Military Service:
- Service Number: 57113
- Age: 41
- Force: Army
- Unit: Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment)
- Division: 20th Battalion
- Citation: An extract from "The London Gazette," dated October 16, 1917, records the following:
During a strong enemy counter-attack a Lewis gun in a forward post in a communication trench leading to the enemy lines, was buried by a shell, and the crew, with the exception of one man, was killed. Sergt. Hobson, though not a gunner, grasping the great importance of the post, rushed from his trench, dug out the gun, and got it into action against the enemy who were now advancing down the trench and across the open. A jam caused the gun to stop firing. Though wounded, he left the gunner to correct the stoppage, rushed forward at the advancing enemy and, with bayonet and clubbed rifle, single-handed, held them back until he himself was killed by a rifle shot. By this time however, the Lewis gun was again in action and reinforcements shortly afterwards arriving, the enemy were beaten off. The valour and devotion to duty displayed by this non-commissioned officer gave the gunner the time required to again get the gun into action, and saved a most serious situation. Victoria Cross
- Honours and Awards:
Victoria Cross
Additional Information:
- Date of Birth: September 23, 1875
- London, England
- Date of Enlistment: November 10, 1914
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Husband of Louise Hobson.
Commemorated on Page 257 of the First World War Book of Remembrance.
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There is a digital photo collection relating to FREDERICK HOBSON.
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FREDERICK HOBSON is a recipient of the Victoria Cross.
[COMPLETE LIST OF CANADIAN VICTORIA CROSS RECIPIENTS]
Burial Information:
VIMY MEMORIAL
Pas de Calais,France
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Grave Reference: N/A
Location:
Canada's most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the majestic and inspiring Vimy Memorial, which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge, about eight kilometres northeast of Arras on the N17 towards Lens. The Memorial is signposted from this road to the left, just before you enter the village of Vimy from the south. The memorial itself is someway inside the memorial park, but again it is well signposted. At the base of the memorial, these words appear in French and in English:
Inscribed on the ramparts of the Vimy Memorial are the names of over 11,000 Canadian soldiers who were posted as 'missing, presumed dead' in France.
A plaque at the entrance to the memorial states that the land for the battlefield park, 91.18 hectares in extent, was 'the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation to the people of Canada'. Construction of the massive work began in 1925, and 11 years later, on July 26, 1936, the monument was unveiled by King Edward VIII.
The park surrounding the Vimy Memorial was created by horticultural experts. Canadian trees and shrubs were planted in great masses to resemble the woods and forests of Canada. Wooded parklands surround the grassy slopes of the approaches around the Vimy Memorial. Trenches and tunnels have been restored and preserved and the visitor can picture the magnitude of the task that faced the Canadian Corps on that distant dawn when history was made.
On April 3, 2003, the Government of Canada designated April 9th of each year as a national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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