Charles Hudson (VC)
Charles Hudson | |
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Early life
Charles Edward Hudson was born in Derby on 29 May 1892, Oak Apple Day, the second son and third child of Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Edward Hudson of the Sherwood Foresters and his wife .[1][2] He was educated at a preparatory school in East Grinstead, Surrey, and later at Sherborne School, Dorset, which he attended from September 1905 to July 1910.[2] Charles did not stand out during his time at Sherborne School. He later recounted, in his journal published in the biography by his son, Miles Hudson, Two Lives 1892–1992, that being morbidly afraid of physical pain he was "terribly conscious of being a coward on the football field" and that it was not until he had been at Sherborne for some years that he was able to overcome these physical fears.[3]
After leaving Sherborne, Hudson went to the
First World War
On the outbreak of the
He was posted to the newly raised 11th (Service) Battalion, a
During the conflict he received numerous military honours: in 1916 he was awarded the
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He was in command of a sector of the front line for several days during an action, and organised and carried out the defence of the position under continuous and violent enemy shelling. It was entirely due to his organisation and personal supervision of the work that the line was able to resist heavy enemy counter-attacks. He showed splendid leadership and great energy and courage.[20]
At the age of just 26, Hudson was one of the youngest
In Testament of Youth,[21] Vera Brittain describes several meetings with the convalescent Hudson while she was trying to discover the circumstances of the death of her brother, Captain Edward Brittain, who had served under Hudson, and was killed on 15 June 1918 in the attack in which Hudson won his VC.[22]
VC action
Hudson was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 15 June 1918 near Asiago, Italy, during the Second Battle of the Piave River, as a 26-year-old temporary lieutenant-colonel in command of the 11th Battalion Sherwood Foresters. The citation appeared in a supplement to The London Gazette on 11 July 1918.[23]
Capt. (T./Lt.-Col.) Charles Edward Hudson, D.S.O., M.C., Notts. & Derby. R.
For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when his battalion was holding the right front sector during an attack on the British front.
The shelling had been very heavy on the right, the trench destroyed, and considerable casualties had occurred, and all the officers on the spot were killed or wounded. This enabled the enemy to penetrate our front line.
The enemy pushed their advance as far as the support line which was the key to our right flank. The situation demanded immediate action. Lt.-Col. Hudson, recognising its gravity, at once collected various headquarter details, such as orderlies, servants, runners, etc., and, together with some Allies, personally led them up the hill.
Driving the enemy dawn the hill towards our front line, he again led a party of about five up the trench, where there were about 200 enemy, in order to attack them from the flank. He then with two men got out of the trench and rushed the position, shouting to the enemy to surrender, some of whom did. He was then severely wounded by a
bombwhich exploded on his foot. Although in great pain, he gave directions for the counter-attack to be continued, and this was done successfully, about 100 prisoners and six machine-guns being taken.Without doubt the high courage and determination displayed by Lt.-Col. Hudson saved a serious situation, and had it not been for his quick determination in organising the counter-attack a large number of the enemy would have dribbled through, and counter-attack on a larger scale would have been necessary to restore the situation.
Between the wars
After the war, Hudson, against advice and having embarked with a
Returning to England, in 1920 Hudson married Gladys Lee, from Glendale, Northumberland, who he had first met in London after having been wounded in Italy in 1918. They had two sons, John Patrick Charles, born on 11 April 1922, and Miles Matthew Lee, born on 17 August 1925.[25] Their first years of marriage, spent in Derby, were difficult, and Hudson, initially unwilling to do so, chose to remain in the army, although the pay was barely sufficient, and both he and his wife had to live on army rations.[26]
The first few years of Hudson's service as a Regular Army officer were spent mainly on regimental duties, initially as
Soon after graduating from the Staff College, Hudson returned to his regiment's 1st Battalion, then stationed in Northern Ireland, serving there for six months, before he transferred on 27 July 1928 to the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB), with the rank of major,[32] after being told that there was little chance of promotion in his own regiment.[33] After serving with Malaya Command as a staff officer from 1930 to 1932, he was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1932.[34] He became a Chief Instructor in the grade of General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO3) at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst from 31 January 1933[35] until 31 January 1937.[36] He then returned to the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, serving in the Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, before moving down to Portsmouth to become part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Bernard Montgomery, who had been one of Hudson's Staff College instructors.[37]
Hudson was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 30 April 1938 and, on 2 June, to the temporary rank of brigadier
Second World War
Soon after the outbreak of the
For his services in France and Belgium Hudson was made a
Promoted to the acting rank of major-general on 14 December,[43] Hudson became GOC of the 46th Infantry Division, a second-line Territorial Army (TA) formation, taking over from Major-General Desmond Anderson. Formed in October 1939 as a duplicate of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, the 46th Division comprised the 137th, 138th and 139th Infantry Brigades, along with supporting divisional troops. The division, minus its divisional troops, had fought in France with the BEF, sustaining extremely heavy casualties due to its poor level of training, and after being evacuated, was then serving in Scotland under Scottish Command, reorganising after its heavy losses. Soon after Hudson became GOC, in early January 1941 the 46th Division moved to Cambridgeshire, then Norfolk, where it came under the command of Lieutenant-General Edmund Osborne's II Corps, serving under Eastern Command and, like it had in Scotland, focused on reorganising and training to repel a German invasion, although then considered unlikely in winter.[44] Hudson only held the command for just over five months, until May 1941, after a dispute with Osborne, his senior officer, which resulted in his demotion to the substantive rank of colonel,[45] and he never again held a divisional command, nor regained his rank of major-general.[1] Osborne, who, possibly envious of Hudson being the holder of a VC, interfered with Hudson's command, writing to his battalion and brigade commanders without Hudson knowing, organising exercises, and visiting the division without informing its GOC.[46] Hudson wrote an official letter of complaint. Osborne arrived, apologised and promised that he would no longer interfere, and went away on two weeks' leave. However, when he returned Hudson received an official report that he was, in his corps commander's opinion, unfit to command a division.[47] Hudson, following Osborne's own advice, appealed, unsuccessfully, and he lost command of the division.[48] He was succeeded as GOC of the 46th Division by Major-General Douglas Wimberley, a fellow student at the Staff College in the mid-1920s, who was sympathetic to Hudson's plight. Hudson wrote that "There are few blows in life which are more shattering than wounded pride. I felt personally shamed and disgraced. I had worn the insignia of a general long enough to become known to relatives, friends and acquaintances as such, and now I had to tell them that I had dropped to a rank lower than that I held before the war".[48]
After his demotion, he briefly commanded the
Postwar
He was awarded the
An obituary for Brigadier Charles Edward Hudson was published in the Old Shirburnian Society Annual Report in September 1959, reading:
The decorations bestowed on Charles Edward Hudson themselves give proof of his calibre as a soldier: V.C., C.B., D.S.O and bar, M.C., Croix de Guerre, and Italian Silver Medal for Valour. He was a graduate of the Staff College, had been the Chief Instructor at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst from 1933 to 1936, had commanded a Battalion and Infantry Brigade and from 1944 to 1946 was an A.D.C. to the King. In 1949 he became the Devon County Commissioner of St Johns Ambulance Brigade and later, Chairman of the Order of St John in Devon. His two sons were both Shirburnians – J.P.C. Hudson (Harper House 1936–1940) was killed in action in North Africa in 1943, and M.M.L. Hudson (Harper House 1939–1943) is a Major in the 12th Royal Lancers. His brother T.H. Hudson was at The Green from 1903 to 1906. It was most fitting that such a distinguished Shirburnian whose own son was amongst those whose memory was there to be perpetuated, should perform the ceremony opening the Big Schoolroom on 10 November 1956. His speech on that occasion will still be fresh in the minds of those who heard it.[49]
His medals are on display at Nottingham Castle.[50]
Writings
Hudson wrote his memoirs in a 730-page journal later published by his son Miles in 1992. He also wrote many poems based on experiences as far back as childhood that were also unpublished in his lifetime, as were two radio plays (never produced), ten short stories and many reflections on secular subjects. His only work that was published in his lifetime was several chess problems that appeared in chess magazines.[51]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Smart, p. 162
- ^ a b c d Gliddon 2005, p. 29.
- ^ Two Lives 1892–1992. The Memoirs of Charles Edward Hudson, VC, CB, DSO, MC, and Miles Matthew Lee Hudson, also some poems by Charles Edward Hudson (privately published by Wilton 65, Bishop Wilton, York, September 1992
- ^ Hudson, pps. 25-26
- ^ Hudson, p. 27
- ^ "No. 28977". The London Gazette. 17 November 1914. p. 9410.
- ^ "No. 29094". The London Gazette. 9 March 1915. p. 2371.
- ^ "No. 29382". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1915. p. 11878.
- ^ "No. 29908". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 January 1917. p. 737.
- ^ "No. 30443". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 December 1917. p. 13436.
- ^ "No. 30637". The London Gazette. 16 April 1918. p. 4706.
- ^ "No. 31102". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 1919. p. 144.
- ^ "No. 30503". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 January 1918. p. 1514.
- ^ Gliddon 2005, p. 31.
- ^ "No. 30441". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 December 1917. p. 13365.
- ^ Hudson, p. 232
- ^ "No. 31039". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1918. p. 14098.
- ^ "No. 30399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 November 1917. p. 12315.
- ^ a b Gliddon 2005, p. 33.
- ^ "No. 30614". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 April 1918. p. 4196.
- ISBN 0140188444. After the book's publication, in 1934, Hudson got in touch with Brittain and told her that her brother had been under threat of court martial because of his alleged homosexual relations with men in his company, see Paul Berry and Mark Bostridge, Vera Brittain: A Life, 1995
- ^ Gliddon 2005, p. 28.
- ^ "No. 30790". The London Gazette. 9 July 1918. p. 8155.
- ^ Hudson, pps. 122-147
- ^ Hudson, pps. 151−152
- ^ Hudson, pps. 150−151
- ^ "No. 31893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 May 1920. p. 5348.
- ^ "No. 32930". The London Gazette. 25 April 1924. p. 3349.
- ^ Hudson, pps. 153−154
- ^ Hudson, p. 155
- ^ Hudson, p. 154
- ^ a b "No. 33434". The London Gazette. 30 October 1928. p. 7016.
- ^ Hudson, pps. 156−157
- ^ "No. 33786". The London Gazette. 1 January 1932. p. 49.
- ^ "No. 33909". The London Gazette. 7 February 1933. p. 828.
- ^ "No. 34371". The London Gazette. 16 February 1937. p. 1082.
- ^ Hudson, pps. 157−158
- ^ "No. 34508". The London Gazette. 6 May 1938. p. 2927.
- ^ Hudson, p. 158
- ^ Hudson, pps. 165−176
- ^ "No. 34893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1940. p. 4244.
- ^ Hudson, pps. 177−182
- ^ "No. 35047". The London Gazette. 17 January 1941. p. 402.
- ^ Hudson, p. 184
- ^ "No. 35172". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1941. p. 3004.
- ^ Hudson, pps. 184-185
- ^ Hudson, pps. 185-186
- ^ a b Hudson, p. 187
- ^ Obituary for Brigadier Charles Edward Hudson, Old Shirburnian Society Annual Report, September 1959.
- ^ The family of Major-General Charles Hudson
- ^ Hudson, p. 223
Bibliography
- Gliddon, Gerald (2005). The Sideshows. ISBN 978-0-7509-2084-1.
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
- Miles Hudson, Soldier, Poet, Rebel: The Extraordinary Life of Charles Hudson VC (The History Press Ltd., 2007). ISBN 978-0-7509-4436-6
External links
- Burial location of Charles Hudson "Devonshire"
- News item "Charles Hudson's Victoria Cross donated to the Sherwood Foresters Museum"
- Generals of World War II
- Charles Hudson at Find a Grave
- Sherborne School Archives