Boulogne Eastern Cemetery

Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-

The oldest son of shipyard plater John Thomas Hayes and his wife Elizabeth Thompson (nee D’Arcy), young Thomas was born on 9th September 1887. Aged 3 he was living in Monkwearmouth with his grandparents whilst his parents were at home in Queen Street with his younger brother John and new born Stanley. Ten years later Thomas was back with his parents, brothers and three sisters, Hilda, May and Nora, living in Booth Street, Sunderland.

On 1st July 1909 the three Hayes brothers, Thomas, John and Stanley, arrived in Canada having sailed from Liverpool on board the SS Ottawa, all three seeking work as boilermakers. Thomas was successful and found work in a foundry in Toronto, but then moved west to live and work in British Columbia.

Among the first to enlist, on 10th August 1914 Thomas was mobilised with the Duke of Connaught’s Own Regiment in Revelstoke and travelled with them to the new camp at Valcartier, Quebec, where on 18th September he enlisted as Private 17014 with the7th (1st British Columbia Regiment) Battalion. Attached to “G” Company, Thomas gave his parents in Sunderland as his next of kin and mentioned the four years he had spent as a volunteer in the 3rd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry.

Just a few weeks later the Battalion sailed from Quebec City as part of the 1st Canadian Contingent on the SS Virginia. Landing in Devonport on 20th October 1914 the men were posted to West Down South Camp on Salisbury Plain. Reviewed by HM King George V, Lord Kitchener and other dignitaries on 4th November, the following day the 7th Battalion moved to Larkhill Camp where they spent Christmas and New Year.

In mid February 1915 the 7th Battalion, as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Canadian Division proceeded on the SS Cardiganshire from Avonmouth to St.Nazaire, France, from where they travelled, by train and foot, into Belgium. Based near Ploegsteert each platoon of the Battalion was assigned to the East Lancashire or Hampshire Regiments for a week’s instruction in trench duties.

On 31st March 1915 the Sunderland Daily Echo published a letter from Private Hayes under the headline “Local Men’s Letters: their firewood, how they brought it in”. It reads:

I’m in great condition. The harder the life the better I like it. I had my boots off last night for the first time in a week. I have had two or three narrow escapes lately. Our worst job is going in and out of the trenches. The Germans keep up a continuous fire while we are doing this, and although it’s done in the dark it’s very dangerous.

The other day my chum and I thought we would go and look for some wood for our fire, so we left the trench and wandered for about half an hour, when we came across a big wooden beam. We got it on our shoulders with a struggle and set off to come back, when to our surprise we found that the Germans had seen us, and soon the shots began to fly at us. Still we hung on to our firewood, which was very heavy. I was walking in front and every time a shot went over our heads or hit the ground at our feet I could hear my chum calling the Kaiser all kinds of names. One shot went right through the beam. Anyhow we got back safely with the prize, which kept out fire going for three days.

One night my chum and I volunteered to go on listening patrol, so we set out for the German trenches. We couldn’t see a finger before us it was so dark. We got in a hole and had just nicely settled down to watch and listen when to our surprise we saw thousands of Germans coming towards us. Of course we had our rifles loaded and we dare not breathe, but they never came and when a rocket went up and lighted up the ground we saw, to our disgust, not Germans but only a bunch of tree stumps! We were relieved by two of our boys, but we didn’t say a word about it. They would have had as good laugh at us, wouldn’t they?

But the worst of it was that on our way back to our trench we took a wrong road and entered the trench a different way from which we came out. We gave the fellow on sentry an awful fright; he thought we were Germans, and we had to shout at him, else he would have shot some lead into us.

Just over a month after publication of his letter Thomas was with his Battalion in reserve at Brielen, near Ypres. On 2nd May the camp was heavily shelled and it was here that Private Hayes was badly wounded in both legs. Evacuated to 11th General Hospital in Boulogne, Thomas Cook Hayes died from his wounds on 12th May 1915.

Thomas Hayes is remembered in Sunderland on S140.048 part 9 page 201

In Canada he is remembered on their Virtual War Memorial and in their Book of Remembrance.

Canadian Book of Remembrance
Canadian Virtual Memorial
The CWGC entry for Private Hayes