Not Forgotten, 419 Trooper Arthur Vincent HATWELL, 10 Light Horse AIF, World War 1

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Overview

Commemoration of the military service of 419 Trooper Arthur Vincent HATWELL, 10 Light Horse, died 12 March 1918 from effects of war service.

Historical information

Trooper Arthur Hatwell, a farmer from Dowerin, was born near Ballarat in Victoria, the son of John Hatwell of Dowerin and Emma Hatwell of Horsham, Victoria. Arthur had been apprenticed at the Port Melbourne Engineering Works as a fitter for 5 years before moving to Western Australia where he farmed with his brothers George and Joseph.

On 20 October 1914 Trooper Hatwell enlisted at the age of 23 and was placed in the 10th Light Horse Regiment, C Squadron embarking from Fremantle on HMAT A52 Surada on 17 February 1915 and transferred to the 3rd Machine Gun Squadron. Trooper Hatwell left Alexandria for Gallipoli on 16 May 1915 and served until 26 August when he was transferred to the hospital on Mudros with dysentery, returning to Gallipoli on 5 September and serving until his evacuation from Mudros on 24 December 1915. In Egypt after the evacuation from Gallipoli Trooper Hatwell contracted malaria and he was seriously injured in the advance on Palestine in 1917when his horse was killed under him.

His war record is short of details, but in May 1917 Arthur Hatwell was transferred from Montazah Convalescent Home to the 19th General Hospital with the following statement: “Has been very restless the last 3 days, wanders aimlessly about. Last night walked out of wrong door & fell down steps. Has tremors. Will not keep in his quarters. Feels very shaky. Wounded five times, heatstroke and dysentery.” He was invalided home, embarking at Suez for Australia on H.T. Oxfordshire and disembarking at Capetown on 16 June 1917, being admitted to No. 1 General Hospital at Wynberg to await transport to Australia.

Trooper Hatwell was nursed by his mother in Melbourne until his death on 12 March 1918 and he was buried in Brighton Cemetery in Melbourne. In 2023 his grave was reconstructed as a Commonwealth War Grave, until that time Arthur Hatwell’s death had not been recognised as war-related and his grave was civilian.

Trooper Hatwell was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-65-M132

Inscriptions and markings

When the Great War broke out in Europe in 1914, Dowerin was an isolated farming district, several days travel by horse or by coach from Perth. Over the succeeding four years at least 176 men and one nurse served in the armed forces of the Empire. The names of the men who served can be read on the Honour Roll in the Dowerin Town Hall or can be accessed on the museum section of the Shire of Dowerin website.

Fifty-one men from the district died in the Great War and their names are inscribed on the Dowerin War Memorial which was unveiled on ANZAC Day 1936. Subsequent conflicts have seen more names memorialised and each ANZAC Day their sacrifice is honoured and remembered by the community.

Contextual Information

For some years Diane Hatwell had been intrigued by the names on the Dowerin War Memorial. Some were familiar with the families still in the district but some not so. Diane felt It was important for the community that when we said each ANZAC Day “We will remember them”, we had some idea of who and what we are remembering. She set about, to find out who they were, what they were doing in the Dowerin district, and where and how they died. These pages presented through Collections WA represent the current state of this ongoing research and community response.

Geotag

-37.899446592079, 145.02100226933

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Links to additional resources

Service Records

Service Summary

AWM Roll of Honour

Brighton General Cemetery, Melbourne

Dowerin War Memorial

WA Army Museum Record

Dowerin District Museum