Francis Paget Hewkley: awarded Military Medal for bravery at the Somme

Many thanks to Stuart Hallifax who has written a great piece on Francis Paget Hewkley in his Great War London blog.  Hewkley was brought up in London, emigrated to Australia in 1912 and then enlisted a signalman in the Australian infantry.  He served at Gallipoli before transferring to the Western Front where he won a Military Medal for his bravery in the Battle of the Somme.

One of Hewkley’s drawings for the ANZAC Book

However in June 1917 Hewkley was killed in action at Zonnebeke Ridge.  He was buried in a nearby Belgian military cemetery but is commemorated on his parent’s headstone in the Brockley & Ladywell Cemetery. 

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Frances Paget Hewkley Family Grave: source Billion Graves