Pte. John Albert Hewitt
British Army Pioneer Corps
from:Fordham, Essex
(d.27th Jan 1945)
Private John Hewitt was 51 when he died serving with the Pioneer Corps. He is our oldest casualty from both World Wars. He is remembered on our village war memorial in Fordham Essex where he lived with his wife Rose and two children at Coronet, Halsted Road, Fordham.
Fordham Local History Society was given information by a family member. She states that her grandfather was taken prisoner of war after being captured at Dunkirk, and was shot by the Russians when they overran the camp towards the end of the war. John is buried at Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery Poland. In WW2 Poznan was used as the burial place of many airmen who had been shot down but also for prisoners from various German camps. In WW1 Prisoners of War who had died, were buried at Szczypiorno, a Prisoners of War Cemetery and then reburied at Poznan. One of our WW1 casualties Francis Benjamin Francis was reburied at Poznan having died as a POW in WW1.
