Zulu Dawn:“Excuse me, my Lord, there's something I must convey to you. I rode along the track down to Rorke's Drift. The sky above is red with fire. Your orders my Lord? Do we move to the drift?”
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Subject: Fred Hitch-The true Story Mon Mar 26, 2012 6:14 pm
I was allowed to eat my meal on Saturday opposite Fred Hitch's desendant, she told me some very intresting stuff.
Hitch was not arrested, he went to the magistrates to join up, as was the practise back then.
He was a shy man with bold sandy hair, all the Hitch men look the same.
He never recovered from the shot he recieved at RD, it completly destroyed his shoulder. There are photos of him with his good arm posing but his injured one limp at his side.
He simply took his coat off and hung it up when his VC was stolen, the story of him falling off a ladder and waking up in hospital and asking for his coat and finding it stolen, isn't true.
Hitch gave his second VC to a family member who sold it to a pawn shop (for reasons unknown), when it came upfor sale a diffent family member got everyone togehter and bourght it back.
The photo ladled the survivors of B company after the war were infact taken before it.
Cheers
Chelmsfordthescapegoat
Posts : 2586 Join date : 2009-04-24
Subject: Re: Fred Hitch-The true Story Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:10 pm
Nice one drummerboy. Primary source. Can't beat that. Well done and thanks for sharing.
old historian2
Posts : 1095 Join date : 2009-01-14 Location : East London
Subject: Re: Fred Hitch-The true Story Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:58 pm
Didn't Hitch try his hand at being a LandLord in a pub, but it didn't go to plan. I do recall reading that his name is still above the door of the pub as the licensee. Could be wrong. Can anyone confirm.
90th
Posts : 10356 Join date : 2009-04-07 Age : 65 Location : Melbourne, Australia
Subject: Fred Hitch - The True Story Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:35 am
Hi OH2 . I know Hitch got a job with the Corps of Commissionaires , his VC was stolen in 1901 , he also purchased a cab and a couple of horses from memory . I dont recall him being a Landlord but he may have been , I'm fairly certain there was an award to London Cabbies called the ' Hitch ' award , this has been discussed previously . cheers 90th.
Drummer Boy 14
Posts : 2004 Join date : 2011-08-01 Age : 24
Subject: Re: Fred Hitch-The true Story Tue Mar 27, 2012 3:42 pm
Old H
Sorry no mention of a pub in what i was told Fred did in later life, he bacame a cabbie, although his injured arm was difficult to drive with.
Cheers
Last edited by Drummer Boy 14 on Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
impi
Posts : 2308 Join date : 2010-07-02 Age : 41
Subject: Re: Fred Hitch-The true Story Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:20 pm
Subject: Re: Fred Hitch-The true Story Tue Dec 09, 2014 8:31 pm
A new snippet of information on an old thread. This cutting is fixed to the original medal roll at Kew. Seems that in 1929 Fred Hitch's brother put his replacement VC up for auction and another family member bought it.
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