232012 Pte. Ernest Hilton British Army 95th Coy. Machine Gun Corps from:130 Bunhill Row, London Ernest Hilton was transferred into the Machine Gun Corps from the 5th Battalion, City of London Rifles, a Territorial regiment. He enlisted into the 5th battalion on 1st March 1915, agreeing at the same time to serve outside the United Kingdom. He transferred into the Machine Gun Corps on 26th July 1916, being posted to the BEF in France on 13th August that year. He joined the 95th Company, MGC on 21st August 1916 and remained in France until 11th October 1916, during which period the company saw action on the Somme as part of 95th Brigade, 5th Division.
After a period at home, he was posted to the 224th Company MGC, BEF, France on 25th April 1917, remaining out there until 17th September 1917, during which period the company saw action around Arras as part of the 63rd (Naval) Division.
He spent the remainder of the war in Britain, being posted to 15th Company, MGC on 14th March 1918 and posted Category Bii on 29th August 1918. A short attachment to 421 Agricultural Company, Labour Corps, Warrington then followed (26th September to 27th November 1918) before he was posted to 6th Reserve Battalion, MGC on 22nd February 1919. After transfer to the Army Z Reserve on 5th April 1919, he was discharged from the MGC on 20th April 1921, under paragraph 392 (xvia) of King's Regulations "being surplus to military requirements having suffered impairment since entry into the service." He was later awarded a pension, backdated to 5th April 1919, for Neurasthenia (a common diagnosis for "shell shock"), attributable to his war service, with the "degree of disablement" being given as 50%. He was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
|