William Hackett
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William Hackett VC (11 June 1873- 27 June 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Nottingham born Hackett enlisted in Royal Engineers tunnelling companies in October 1915, after being rejected three times by the York and Lancaster Regiment for being over age - he was 42 years old. Before joining up he had worked as a miner for 23 years in the Nottingham and Yorkshire coalfields
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[edit] Details
He was 43 years old, and a Sapper in the 254th Tunnelling Company, Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 22 June/23 June 1916 at Shaftesbury Avenue Mine, near Givenchy, France, Sapper Hackett was entombed with four others in a gallery, owing to the explosion of an enemy mine. After working for 24 hours a hole was made and the rescue party outside contacted. Sapper Hackett helped three of the men through the hole and could easily have followed, but refused to leave the fourth man who had been seriously injured. The hole gradually got smaller, but he still refused to leave his injured comrade. Finally the gallery collapsed and although the rescue party worked desperately for four days, they were unable to reach the two men.
[edit] Further information
William Hackett's name is recorded on the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing in Berks Cemetery Extension near Ploegsteert in Hainaut, Belgium.
[edit] The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum (Chatham, England).
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
- Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
