Lt. George J. Hatch Biography
Lt. George J Hatch Biography-3: Death & Memorials
Lt George Hatch and Cpl. Ernest Landridge were buried at the Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, just south of the town of Souchez and 11.4 km. north of the center of Arras.
Lt. Hatch’s plane crashed behind enemy lines. Based on information from the National Archives, the British were notified on April 7, “Killed…From German message dropped in our Lines….”. We will never know if George Hatch was wearing his watch on April 6 – or whether the German’s returned Lt. Hatch’s personal artifacts including his watch - but it seems likely....
Stockwell (London) WW1 War Memorial
In 1922 the Stockwell community dedicated a monument for the 574 Stockwell District men killed in the War (including Lt. Hatch whose family had lived there since 1911). It was designed as a clock tower built of Portland stone. Above the entrance is a large sculpture - the figure of Remembrance adorned with a laurel wreath and a broken sword of war at her feet. Beneath her are the words, “To the Stockwell Men who Served in the Great War, 1914–1919".
The Memorial was dedicated on May 3, 1922. When the dedication ceremony began on May 3, 1922, there was a solemn hush; “Among the onlookers were many ex-Service men and women wearing medals and decorations, and a large number of women in mourning, carrying wreaths or little bunches of flowers… in honour of their fallen,” reported The South London Press. Stepping down from the platform, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, dressed in deep black, released the Union Jack covering the face of the Memorial, declaring: “To the glorious and lasting memory of the men of Stockwell, who laid down their lives for their King and Country.” Lt. George Hatch's name is engraved on one of the memorial plaques.
