British Army Veterinary Corps
Edwin Hills HAZELTON
Brigadier General
Died 25 July 1916 · Aged 54
His story
Brigadier-General Edwin Hills Hazelton FRCVS was born at Southampton on 16 December 1861 and qualified from the Royal Veterinary College, London, in March 1883. Before entering the Army Veterinary Department he also appeared briefly in first-class cricket for Hampshire.
Hazelton’s military veterinary career extended across more than three decades. He served in China in 1900 and was Mentioned in Despatches. Promotion followed through the senior ranks, and he eventually became one of the leading veterinary officers in India.
During the First World War he served in Mesopotamia before returning to India in April 1916. Contemporary veterinary reporting states that about six weeks later he injured a leg and developed thrombosis of the saphenous vein. Even while confined to bed he continued to conduct official business. He died at Simla on 25 July 1916, aged 54, after a seizure.
Hazelton received a funeral with full military honours attended by senior officers, including the Commander-in-Chief in India. He left a wife and six children. His long career shows the institutional continuity between the pre-war Army Veterinary Department and the much larger wartime veterinary service.
Before the war
- Nationality
- British
- Date of Birth
- 16 December 1861
- Place of Birth
- Southhamption, Hampshire, England
- Veterinary College and Date of Graduation
- London - March 1883
Military service
- Last Rank
- Brigadier General
- Regiment/Service
- British Army Veterinary Corps
- Secondary Regiment
- Indian Veterinary Department
Medals and commemoration
- Name on RCVS Honour Board
- Yes
- Name In Officers who died in Great War
- Yes
- Medals and Awards
- Victory Medal
Death and burial
- Date of Death
- 25 July 1916
- Age at Death
- 54
- Place of Death
- Simla, India
- Cause of Death
- Stroke
- Cemetery
- Simla Old Cemetery
- Location
- Simla, India
- Grave Reference
- Row K Greave 222
- Commonwealth War Grave
- Yes - Memorial
Sources and further reading
Cite this biography
Graham Hodgkins and Pete Matthews, “Edwin Hills Hazelton”, Veterinary Virtual War Memorial, https://vetsremembered.org/people/edwin_hills_hazelton/.
Contribute information
Can you add a letter, family photograph or document that tells us more about his life before service? Please give its source and any permission needed for display.