SAMUEL HOOKER 

Samuel is a returning soldier, not listed on Weaverham St. Mary’s R.o.H. it was an article in the Northwich Guardian that brought up his name and he was living with his mother-in-law a Mrs Brereton, at Cuddington.

Guardian article 19th Oct. 1917, P5/C4;

CUDDINGTON MAN WINS MILITARY MEDAL. FOUGHT IN THE BOER WAR.

“In the trenches, when his platoon was being very heavily shelled and consequently scattered, this private greatly assisted the platoon sergeant in reorganising the platoon under intense shell fire and putting men under cover, though all the while exposed himself. Two days later, when his company was heavily bombarded by 5.9 and gas shells, he voluntarily stood in the open for over an hour and a half and shouted warnings to the company on arrival of gas shells. He showed a fine example of fearlessness and gallantry.”

This is the official description of the deeds which have won for Private Samuel Hooker the Military Medal. The gallant soldier at the time war was declared was in the employ of Mr. W. M. Turnbull of Hartford, as groom-gardener, and being on the Army Reserve was mobilised. He had previously served eight years in the 18th Hussars and fought in the South African War. On rejoining the Colours, he became servant to General Sir Ian Hamilton and went out with him to the Dardanelles in March 1915. (In March 1915, Lord Kitchener appointed Sir Ian Hamilton, aged 62, to the command of the Allied Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, with orders to gain control of the Dardanelles straits from the Ottoman Empire and to capture Constantinople.) He returned to England the following December and being transferred to the Yorkshire Regiment he went out to the front again last December. Private Hooker, who is 38 years of age, is a married man and his wife and child live with his mother-in-law. Mrs Brereton, at Cuddington, Northwich.

Samuel was 38 in 1917, therefore born 1879. Freebmd record a Samuel Charles C. Hooker born in Reigate in 1879 and goes on to record the death of a Samuel C.C. Hooker in the June Q. of 1967 in Northwich and the marriage of a Samuel C. Hooker/Hannah Brereton in 1911 Northwich. Cheshirebmd records the marriage at St. Mary’s W/ham. (Hannah Brereton is sister of Ralph Brereton who is named on St. Mary’s R.o.H.)

2016 SUPPLEMENT TO THE EDINBURGH GAZETTE, SEPTEMBER 19, 1917

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to award the Military Medal for bravery in the Field to the undermentioned Ladies, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men:-

41589 Pte. S. Hooker, York. R. (Hartford). [The Gazette is a bad print and his Service number looks like 41539.]

N.A.M.C. - have a medal card for a Samuel Hooker with the Rifle Brigade Reg’t No 6/7282, Cpl. This lad enlisted 28/6/1906 and was discharged 13/5/1916 with wounds. He received the 15 Star, British and Victory medals. Theatre of War not stated. They also have 2 medal cards for Samuel with the Yorkshire Reg’t., 1st card; Hooker Samuel, Yorkshire Reg’t. No 41589, Pte. Awarded the British & Victory medals, Theatre of War and Date of Entry not addressed. The 2nd card is for S. Hooker, 8th Yorkshire Reg’t No 41589, Pte. This is his Military Medal card, FRANCE is stamped on the card. Date of Gazette 17/9/17. Registered Paper 6?/121/256, Schedule No 100525.

The WW1 V.A.D. records have a Mrs Hannah Hooker of Cuddington Bank, Northwich, completing duties of kitchen maid at Nunsmere Hospital for 8 months also made shirts for Red Cross Workroom. 1916/1919.

Enquires with the Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum, the following information has been forwarded to me by Mr. Blair Southerden, Volunteer researcher at Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum, on the 27th May 2021. Many thanks to Blair and to the Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum.

6/7282 Corporal Samuel Hooker 1st Bn Rifle Brigade

The medal rolls for this soldier show that during the 1914-1918 war he served in the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own). At the outbreak of war the regimental numbering system had reached 5568 which suggests that he joined earlier when they numbered up to 9999 before resetting to zero. In that sequence, the number 7297 was issued on 1 January 1900. It seems likely therefore that he originally enlisted in December 1899. On a standard enlistment he would have served for seven years with a regular battalion, before transferring to the Army Reserve for a further five years. Under normal circumstances he would have been released from an obligation to serve, five years later i.e. in December 1911. The prefix 6 to his regimental number showed that he was on the rolls of the 6th (Reserve) Battalion which was a reserve and training battalion based at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey as part of the Thames and Medway garrison.

He was discharged during the war, on 13 May 1916, due to wounds received. The roll for his Silver War Badge gives his enlistment date as 28th June 1908. This may be an error, or it may mean that he joined the army as a boy soldier or bugler and his service did not begin to accrue until he reached eighteen years of age. However, that would mean that his seven years with the colours would have completed in June 1915 and his number clearly shows he was a reservist when he rejoined shortly after the outbreak of war.

His service record does not appear to have survived the bombing in 1940 and must be considered destroyed. His medal index card shows his enlistment in June 1908 and that he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, which would have been for service in France and Belgium after November 1914, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

41589 Lance Corporal Samuel Hooker 18th Hussars and 8th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards).

This soldier’s service record exists and is available on Ancestry. In summary it records service classed as Exemplary and extending from his first enlistment in January 1901 until his discharge on 31 March 1920. the record runs to many pages, some duplicated but a summary of his service and postings follows:

Home (i.e. Great Britain and Ireland) 11.01.01 to 25.03.02

South Africa 26.03.02 to 31.10.02

Home 01.11.02 to 10.01.09

Army Reserve 11.01.09 to 10.01.13

Section D Army Reserve 14.04.13 to 04.08.14

Home 05.08.14 to 13.12.16

France 14.12.16 to 07.11.17

Italy 08.11.17 to 14.12.19

Home 15.02.19 to 17.03.19

Class Z Army Reserve 18.03.19 to 31.03.20

He was appointed an unpaid lance corporal on 24.10.17 and a paid lance corporal a little later.

He was awarded the following medals: Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps for Transvaal and South Africa 1902; British War Medal and Victory Medal and the Military Medal. It is interesting that the newspaper report gives the citation for his Military Medal; the original citations were destroyed in 1940 along with so many service records and were not printed in the London Gazette when the awards were published.

At the time of his enlistment he had been living at home with his parents at Hawley, near Reigate, Surrey. Later entries in his service record show his wife and family living in Cuddington, Cheshire. His transfer from 18th Hussars to the Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) may be explained by the history of the cavalry regiment. Originally formed as a regiment of light dragoons they were disbanded with the cuts at the end of the Napoleonic wars. Reformed in 1856 at Leeds in Yorkshire, they continued to recruit largely from that county. Although Hooker came from Surrey he was posted to the Cavalry Depot at Canterbury for basic training. His affiliation with a Yorkshire regiment may have influenced his subsequent transfer during the war.

There is no evidence from his service record that he served in the Dardanelles, unless movements of 8 Bn. Yorkshire Regiment show this. Anyway, no campaign medal was issued by Great Britain for service here apart from the British War medal. The service record does show on a special form that on 22.10.15 he embarked on NP Star of Victoria ‘To England in charge of Sir Ian Hamilton's horses’. That is not explained by his home posting on this date and it would be necessary to understand Hamilton's travels during this month.

Further reading could be "Gallipoli Diary" 1915 by Sir Ian Hamilton

Research Bob H. with the help of Blair from the Royal Green Jackets Musuem.