A soldier with The Bedfordshire Regiment during the First World War, he was awarded the VC for his actions on 24 October 1918, during the Battle of the Selle.

The battalion was part of the 13th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division, and, in November 1914, it was sent to the Western Front in France where it served for several months, including during the First Battle of Ypres.

[2] Hedges was commissioned into the Bedfordshire Regiment in July 1915[3] and after a period of training at Felixstowe, served as a musketry instructor for several months in England.

After a period of treatment at Rouen, he was sent to England for further medical care at Portsmouth and then at Osbourne House at the Isle of Wight.

[2] Hedges, by now a lieutenant (having been promoted to that rank in July 1917),[4] did not return to the frontlines until September 1918, having served briefly as a machine gun instructor on recovering from his wounds.

Leading a company of the battalion near the village of Hecq, northeast of Bousies, Hedges, with his NCO, Sjt Fred Gibson, captured two machinegun posts that were holding up the advance.

[8] The citation for Hedge's VC read: For most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the operations north-east of Bousies on the 24th October, 1918.

His gallantry and initiative enabled the whole line to advance, and tended largely to the success of subsequent operations.Sjt Gibson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his role in accompanying Hedges.

He was instrumental in the setting up of a memorial to former students of his old school at Isleworth County who had been killed during the war and was also involved in the British Legion.