Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-
Oswald Hutton was the second youngest son of local bricklayer Leonard Hutton and his London born wife Martha Maria (nee Scott), who had been working as a servant in Darlington when she met Leonard and married in May 1886. They went on to have seven children, Miriam born in 1888, Jonathan, Blanche, Oswald, Martha, Doris and Noel born at Christmas 1904; all but the three youngest were born in Redcar. By 1901 the family had moved to Hartlepool and were living at 56 Arncliffe Gardens, Stranton, and ten years later Oswald was still living at the same address with his parents and three youngest siblings, and was working as an apprentice house joiner.
In January 1910 Oswald’s oldest brother Jonathan left for Canada to be followed the following year by father Leonard who was escorting eldest daughter Miriam to be married in Vancouver. Oswald arrived in the USA on 19th April 1912 having crossed the Atlantic on the SS Cymric with the intention of making for Vancouver on the west coast of Canada.
Oswald remained living and working as a carpenter in Vancouver and on 15th July 1915 enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Vernon, becoming Private 463476 with HQ Company, 62nd (British Columbia) Battalion. His next of kin was listed as his mother then living at 55 Brougham Terrace, West Hartlepool. After initial training in Canada the Battalion sailed to Liverpool on the SS Baltic in April 1916 and a posting to camp at Shorncliffe, Kent where the men were absorbed into the 30th Reserve Battalion.
June 1916 saw Private Hutton attached to Canadian Machine Gun Corps Depot at nearby Risborough and a month later he was posted to the 2nd Battalion, part of the 1st Infantry Brigade, 1ST Canadian Division and proceeded to France where he joined his new Battalion on 29th July in trenches near Hill 60.
Private Oswald Hutton was killed whilst on a working party in the trenches near Courcelette on 5th September 1916.
Oswald Hutton is remembered in the Hartlepools on H115.30 and W111.86 page 17 and in the Northern Daily Mail List of casualties
In Canada he is remembered on their Virtual War Memorial and in their Book of Remembrance.
Canadian Book of Remembrance
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
The CWGC entry for Private Hutton
