Eddy was invalided home from Gallipoli with dysentery, but he returned to France with the Royal
Welch Fusiliers, where he served for nearly 18 months. After serving three years with the colours,
Eddy was killed before reaching his 19th birthday. Eddy’s battalion was involved in fighting at the
Battle of Albert and in 1917 the Third Battle of Ypres.
Buoyed by the success of the Battle of Messines, General Haig was of the belief that the German
Army was weak and would not withstand an attempted breakthrough in the north-east of Ypres
Salient. Once the breakthrough of the German front line had been achieved, the British would be in
a good position to continue to the German-held ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge on the Belgian
coats. Not only were both ports being used by the Germans for light shipping traffic, but Zeebrugge
was the location for pens of German submarines, which were attacking Allied shipping.
The preliminary bombardment before the battle lasted 10 days, during which time 3,000 guns fired
4.25 million artillery shells. Along an eleven mile front the infantry attack continued. Within hours
of the start of the battle rain began to fall and crucially, did not stop, carrying on into the following
weeks. The constant rain produced conditions completely unsuitable for the continued movement of
men, animals and heavy equipment. The battle continued through the summer, the autumn and into
the winter until the final phase of the Battle of Passchendaele, which became synonymous to the
British nation with mud, blood, horror and terrible human loss: over 300,000 casualties
Eddy Hookway is remembered on the Menin Gate, Ypres.
EDDY HOOKWAY