Lieut. William Hyde 302851

3^rd Canadian Siege Battery/ 7^th Siege Battery

Regimental Number 302851

William James Hyde was born in Warsaw, Ontario on November 24^th, 1890 to parents Reverend Richard Hyde, a Presbyterian Minister, and Barbara (Kerr) Hyde.  He spent his early childhood in Dummer, but moved to Regina, Saskatchewan with his family around 1905.

William was working as an auditor and living in Montreal, when he enlisted in the 3^rd Siege Battery of the Canadian Artillery on September 23^rd 1915.  He was the oldest of three brothers who enlisted to serve overseas.  He was nearly 25 years old and single.  William stood slightly over 6 feet tall, and sported a fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair.  William indicated that he had previously been a member of the Canadian militia.  He listed his father, Rev. Richard Hyde as his next of kin and his religion was Presbyterian. William was the first of three brothers to enlist.

William went into training with his unit and was immediately promoted to Quarter Master Sergeant.  As Q.M.S., he would have overseen the acquisition and distribution of all the supplies and equipment for his battery.  He spent the next month in that role until being re-designated Company Sergeant Major in early December.  Shortly after, the Battery shipped out to England.  Sergt.-Major Hyde and the 3^rd Siege Battery arrived safely in England aboard the S.S. Missanabie on December 28^th 1915.

William remained in Southern England with his unit during the winter of 1916 at the Canadian Base for Siege Artillery.  He was sent to the artillery base at Dover and re-appointed to his old rank of Acting Quarter Master Sergeant there on September 23^rd 1916. He was finally assigned to front on June 12^th when he was given the rank of provisional Battery Sergeant Major and ordered to proceed to France with the 107^th Siege Battery.

A Canadian artillery battery consisted of four guns, worked by a crew of 10 and commanded by a lieutenant.  Siege batteries were of heavier calibre than regular field batteries, and were usually employed to target and destroy enemy artillery and fortifications. As a Sergeant-Major, Hyde occupied the highest rank of a non-commissioned officer, serving as a liaison between the enlisted men and their officers.   He served in this role throughout 1916 and after six months was given the temporary rank of Lieutenant in early December.

Acting Lieutenant Hyde was sent back to the Canadian Siege Artillery Depot in England on December 3^rd 1916, where he enrolled in a Gunner’s course. He came down with laryngitis on January 27^th and was hospitalized for a week before being discharged for another two weeks to sick leave.  Having recovered by February 20^th, he returned to the Artillery Depot and was posted as an officer to the 4^th Canadian Siege Battery at the end of April. He landed in France on April the 20^th and immediately came down with a case of the measles.  He spent the next month in a French hospital before being invalided to England on May 18^th.    He appeared before a medical board in London on the first of June and was given a further three weeks of sick leave when he was diagnosed with para-typhoid.

He went before a medical board on June 23^rd 1917.  Though he had recovered from the para-typhoid, he claimed to be sleeping very poorly, an average of hours.  He was declared fit for service that day and put on command at the Artillery Depot.  He was taken on strength in the 10^th Canadian Siege Battery and assigned to signal training at Harstone, England.  After two months training, he was sent back to the Canadian Artillery Depot. He was ordered to proceed overseas to the 7^th “McGill” Canadian Siege Battery on October 16^th.  He joined them in the field two days later.

William Hyde served as a Lieutenant with the 7^th Canadian Siege Battery until the end of the war. He saw action with his unit through such major battles such as Passchendaele, Arras, Canal-Du-Nord, Valenciennes, and Mons.

After the war he was awarded a Mentioned in Despatches citation; which meant that his name was posted in the London Gazette on July 11^th 1919, as a man who appeared in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to high command, in which his gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy was described.

He remained in France after the Armistice, but was admitted to the No.1 Casualty Clearing Station on November 26^th with another bout of tonsillitis.  He was discharged after four days.  Lieut. Hyde was transferred back to England on March 8^th 1919 and posted to the Canadian Casualty Depot at Buxton.  He was later re-assigned to be orderly officer at Kimmel Park for four months before proceeding overseas on April 16^th 1919.   He was given his formal discharge from military service on April 29^th 1919.

William moved back to Saskatchewan and was living with his father and brother Robert in 1921.  He died in Montreal in 1987 and is buried there.

Sources

Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; MS929; Series: 101; Reel: MS929. P.9.

Canadian Expeditionary Force. CEF Personnel Files 1914-1918.  The Military Service File of William James Hyde.”  Accession 1992-93/166. Record Group 150.   Accession 1992-93/166, Box 4675 – 23.  Item 487315.

Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1901. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Year: 1901; Census Place: Dummer, Peterborough (east/est), Ontario; Page: 2; Family No: 15.

Library and Archives Canada. Census of Canada, 1911. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:  Census Place: 75 - Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan; Page: 33; Family No: 192

Canada. "Census returns for 1916 Census of Prairie Provinces." Statistics of Canada Fonds, Record Group 31-C-1. LAC microfilm T-21925 to T-21956. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Year: 1916; Census Place: Saskatchewan, Regina, 03D; Roll: T-21943; Page: 24; Family No: 272.

Library and Archives Canada. Census of the Northwest Provinces, 1906. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, 2008.   Year: 1906; Census Place: 27, Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan; Page: 15; Family No: 137.

Library and Archives Canada. Sixth Census of Canada, 1921. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 159; Census Place: Regina (City), Regina, Saskatchewan; Page Number: 22