Arthur Richard Hodgson was born in Charlton in 1896, the middle child of three boys, William being five years older and Horace two years younger. Arthur’s father, William, worked as a boiler maker. The family lived at 41 West Street, New Charlton.
In 1907 his father died and by 1911 his mother had found work as a lavatory keeper at Siemens Telegraph to support the family, where William worked as a carpenter. At some point after 1911 the family moved to 43 Gipsy Road, Welling.
Arthur enlisted in Barnstaple in August or September 1914, he is a trademark example of a young man who rushed to enlist due to a patriotic calling. He was placed in the 8th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment as a Private with the number 17539. The 8th Battalion was also known as “Buller’s Own”.
The 8th Devon’s were formed as a part of the First New Army, more commonly known as the new armies set up by Lord Kitchener. Upon completing their ranks they were sent to Camp Rushmoor in Aldershot as a part of 14th Division to complete their training.
On the 26th July 1915 the battalion was mobilised for war and landed at Le Havre where they were transferred to the 20th Brigade of the 7th Division. A few months later he would have taken part in the Battle of Loos. The 8th Battalion was immortalised for its actions at Loos. The objective of the day was Lens however the 8th Devon’s were targeting the village of Hulluch. Leading to the village was a slight depression which contained a battery of guns. The 8th Devon’s were originally tasked with crossing the opposite canal and holding the bank, to be relieved by another division the next morning.
This was their first major action; the night of the 24th September was filled with incessant rain. The shells whined towards the German trenches at 5.45am and gas was released at 6.30am. The rain continued and there was not a strong enough wind to take the gas which gave the Germans time to prepare for an attack.
The conditions Arthur would have endured can be captured through the writings of a Private Dennis from his battalion:
“When we were all lined up waiting for the word to charge (of course we were in the first line of trenches all night…), not a man failed. When we got over the parapet we were met with a terrible rifle and hell fire, gas and barbed wire”.
Artillery fell as soon as they were out of the Trenches and the artillery had failed to cut the wire in many places. Machine gun nests surrounded the area and it was becoming a turkey shoot. After cutting the wire they took the first line of German defence and attacked and held the second line, however, they still had few soldiers left. Upon charging towards their third line they entered the depression and found a battery of guns. Upon entering the town it was full of Germans and forced them to retreat. However, a Sergeant Major Bryant led the 8th Devon’s back with 9th Battalion men taking two lines of German positions and the Guns again. The Devon’s entered with 780 men. Sergeant major Bryant was succeeded by Sergeant Lee as he had been killed by a shell, he could only register for 35 men, and no officers remained. The guns were eventually taken back to Exeter as a propaganda display to celebrate the “success” of the decimated 8th Battalion.
Arthur Hodgson was killed on the 23rd March 1916. He is buried at Dartmoor Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt. He had written a soldier’s will six months earlier: “In the event of my death I give the whole of my property and effects to my father Mr W Hodgson 43 Gipsy Road, Welling, Kent.”
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