Words home from the Great War
Barbara A. Martindale- For What It's Worth
A feature once on display at Edinburgh Square Heritage and Cultural Centre is the "Words home from the Great War."
An open house on Nov. 6 at the centre is fitting to coincide with Remembrance Day commemorations.
The letters Sydney Hewitt wrote home are part of the exhibit. Sydney's niece, the late Elsie Felker (died 2002 at age 84) found the letters and put a collection together.
Sydney Hewitt was born Dec. 24, 1893 in Seneca Township close to the Lincoln Township boundary line, just around the corner from Sinclairville on what is known today as County Road #9. His parents were Thomas Hewitt and Mary Ann Overend. His brother, Clarence, born in 1890, died March 22, 1988 in his 98th year.
Brother Sydney wasn't so fortunate; he was killed at age "23 years, 25 days" fighting for his country in early 1917. He had left for overseas in March 1915.
Sydney's letters home were to his mother, primarily. On May 6, 1915, he was writing from Sandling Camp on Salvation Army letterhead that noted his Battalion as the 20th and 4th Brigade.
"Received your letter a couple of nights ago…” he said. "The battalion came in a couple of weeks ago and since then they have given us plenty of work to do. We had done nothing for five weeks before that, except keep the shack clean."
"I was over to Belfast for five days and had a good time there. I didn't get out to Armagh. It is over forty miles from Belfast and is only a small place.
“We are due on Salisbury Plains the first week in July for a big review of all the Canadian forces."
Another letter dated Aug. 21, 1915 from Sandling Camp was received. He had been to Ireland again and this time he had gone to Armagh (a population of 7,000 at the time), where his Hewitt relatives had immigrated from to arrive in Canada in about 1845, settling near the village of what would be Sinclairville.
Sydney said in this letter, "I did not see any of our relations, but heard there were some Hewitts about five miles from there and some Overends at Portadown, ten miles away."
There were many more letters from that date until his last written on Christmas Day 1916.
"Well mother Christmas Day is here once more. We have just finished our Christmas Dinner. We had the quantity, if not the quality. It consisted of hash, peas and tomato ketchup, plum pudding and cocoa.
"We are in the Reserve now, we don't work in the daytime, but go on working parties every night in the lines and it is sure a nice job shoveling mud in the dark.
"All the fellows . . . are anxious to get over, but when they are over a few weeks, they are all anxious to get back. . . I have never fired shot out of my rifle since last Spring. Went through the last trip at the Somme, and never fired a shot. All we do is guards and fatigues."
Sydney signed his letters "Your loving Sydney.”
His mother received a letter from J.F. Hannaford, Lieut. Com. Jan. 28, 1917. "I myself feel a keen sense of loss and sorrow, as your son was under my Command on many occasions and I learned to value him, not only as an excellent soldier but also as a solid friend in tight corners… he suffered nothing. Believe me Mrs. Hewitt."
Sydney had been killed on January 18th, 1917 "somewhere in France.”
