Mexborough and Swinton Times, December 2, 1916

Mrs Hackett Decorated by King
Investiture at Buckingham Palace

Mrs Hackett and her two children

On Wednesday, Mrs Hackett, Crossgate, Mexborough, widow of Sapper William Hackett (R.E.) was invested by the King at Buckingham Alex with the Victoria Cross gallantly and gloriously earned by her husband last June, in France, in circumstances which have already been recounted in this journal, and which our readers will be familiar.

Sapper Hackett joined the Army in November, 1915, enlisting in answer to a call for experienced miners to form tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers. He went to France with the 1/72 tunnelling company, and in June was buried with four other men in a sap exploded by an enemy mine. After several days a rescue party reached the imprisoned men, and three of them were safely withdrawn to a narrow opening which the Engineers had excavated. There remain Sapper Hackett and a soldier of the Welsh Regiment, who was injured and helpless. Hackett briefly told a rescue party that his comrade could not escape, and that he was going back to stay with him. In reply to their remonstrations he merely said,

“I am a tunneller: I must look after the others.”

So he went back, knowing that he was going to his death, and a moment later the tunnel collapsed and the two men were buried beyond hope of recovery. The Engineers worked for four more days, but never reached the bodies. The Company was so impressed by this magnificent act of self-sacrifice that they subscribe to some of £67 which was sent to the widow and two children, in token of their appreciation.

At the same time, Sapper Hackett was gazetted V.C. and a movement was set on foot in Mexborough to open a Memorial Fund. The fund was owned by a committee of the Borough Urban District Council. This phone is about to be closed, and the Memorial Committee will meet next week to decide to form the memorial shall take. Subscriptions received and promised amount to £142.
Mrs Hackett travelled to London on Tuesday, in company with her sister, Miss Mary Tooby, of Adweek Road, Mexborough and Sapper Hackett’s brother, Mr Arthur Hackett, of Nottingham. By the good offices of councillor W Winstanley, of Mexborough, secretary to the Memorial Fund, the party were met in London by a former Mexborough gentleman, Mr George Stephenson, and now resident in Ballam, London.

On Wednesday Mrs Hackett attended the investiture with other widows of V.C.’s and was personally decorated with the magic symbol of the heroism by the King. She remains in London for the remainder of the week, and we hope in our next issue to give her impressions of the most noteworthy incident of her life.