William was the youngest of at least five children of James H. and Jeannie D. Hewitt, of Altamont, 97 Mornington Park, Bangor, Co. Down.
He was educated at Royal Belfast Academical Institution. A prominent athlete, he also played for the North of Ireland Rugby Football Club.
In the pre-war period he had been a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force.
Second Lieutenant William Arthur Hewitt, 9th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers died on 1st July 1916, aged 23, in an attack on the Schwaben Redoubt.
His colonel wrote,
'…Your little lad Willie led his platoon over our parapet, and the last I saw of him was his happy smile as I wished him luck. They got across to the German trenches, in front of which they came under an appalling machine-gun fire. Your lad was hit, and Sergt. Lally, who is now in hospital wounded, was with him when he passed over…It was a sad day for us, and I feel quite stunned and heartbroken. Your Willie was one of the nicest-minded boys I ever knew. My wife saw a letter he wrote to the widow of a man in his company, and she told me it was the most beautiful letter of sympathy she had ever read. No one but a spiritually-minded boy could have written such a letter…'
The adjutant wrote,
'…Willie led his platoon fearlessly over the top. One of his men told me he was wounded, but still carried on, but had to stop - from loss of blood…He was a grand boy, one of the finest characters I have seen. He acted as assistant-adjutant to me, and no more conscientious and better boy ever lived…'
He is also commemorated on the Bangor War Memorial, and, together with his brothers Ernest and Holt, is commemorated on a brass memorial tablet in St. Comgall's Church, Bangor.
His brother, Lieutenant Ernest Henry Hewitt, 4th Battalion, Kings Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) died between 15th and 16th June 1915, aged 29. He is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial.
His brother, Lieutenant Holt Montgomery Hewitt, 109th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) also died on 1st July 1916, aged 29.
He is buried in grave XIX.D.9 in Mill Road Cemetery.
Support Our Charitable Foundation
Your donation helps us deliver projects like For Evermore, which educate and inspire future generations to remember those who gave their lives in the two World Wars. With your support, we can keep their stories alive and ensure they are never forgotten.
As well as making a donation today, you might also consider leaving a gift in your will to the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation. Legacy gifts, large or small, help us preserve this vital heritage for generations to come.
Thank you for helping us honour their memory so we can tell Every Story. For evermore.
