Erland Godfrey Hadow - Lest We Forget

Erland Godfrey Hadow was born January 4, 1875 at Ellington Hall, Norfolk, England.  He was the son of Reginald Townshend Hadow and Mary Adelaide Hadow. They were living in London, England at the beginning of the war. Erland immigrated to Canada in 1893, living first in Alberta and subsequently moving to British Columbia. The 1901 census notes him living in the Trout Lake area and working as a labourer. In 1912 Erland qualified as a Land Surveyor and began work around the Revelstoke area. He set up a Land Survey Office here in partnership with H.H. Abbott. The early 1914 issues of the newspapers note his involvement in the social and sporting life of the city.

Erland Godfrey Hadow signed his enlistment papers November 9, 1914 at Vancouver. He was 39 years old, single, 5’ 6” tall with brown hair and blue eyes. His religious affiliation was Anglican. His Regimental Number was 117025Since the beginning of the war in August 1914 he had been a member of the Civil Guard, a group which regularly practiced its marksmanship and whose scores were printed in the paper. He also did not stay single for long. On December 26, 1914 he and Miss Charlotte Jesse Bird Marshall were married in St. Peter’s Anglican Church. Miss Marshall was the daughter of the late Col. H.B. Marshall of the Punjab Infantry.  The wedding party passed through a double row of the Rocky Mountain Rangers and Home Guard on their way out of the church. The new Mrs. Hadow was to lose both her husband and her brother in the Great War.

Erland had initially volunteered with the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders. He later joined the 15th Alberta Light Horse. Upon reaching England he obtained a commission in the British Army. Mrs. Hadow joined him in Britain. She was booked for passage on the Lusitania but had to cancel out. The Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Britain on that occasion.

Erland Hadow eventually was promoted to Captain and reached France in January 1916. In October 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross “for conspicuous gallantry on many occasions, especially when a covering party having been sent forward it came under heavy machine gun fire and wavered. He controlled these men and reorganized the position. His coolness and determination have been an example to all ranks.” A notice of his award was also printed in the local newspaper.

Erland Godfrey Hadow died on May 29, 1917 near Heudicourt. He was 42 years old. At the time of his death he was a Captain in the 17th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own). He was one of two Captains from Revelstoke to perish in the war, the highest ranking officers from Revelstoke to do so. He is buried at the Heudicort Communal Cemetery Extension, France. His name appears on both the Courthouse and the Cemetery plaques.

Mrs. Hadow moved back to Revelstoke for a short time and then moved to Oak Bay, near Victoria with her daughter and her mother, Mrs. Marshall.