Huthwaite WW One Memorial
1914 - 1918 Remembrance
William Edward Hardy
Private 16865 - Sherwood Foresters
Notts Derby Regiment 10th Battalion
Enlisted: Sutton September 1914
Killed in Action Flanders 6th August 1916 : Aged 26
Delville Wood Cemetery, Longueval - XXII Q 9
Huthwaite Online WW1 Remembrance
Private 16865 William Edward Hardy was born 1890 Q3 in Huthwaite. Parents 1877 Mansfield Q1 registered marriage between coal miner Mr William Hardy from Pinchbeck, Lincs. and Miss Eliza Hayes from Sutton provides their Sutton Road family home. Heading entire 1901 household is William 42. Mrs Eliza Hardy 41, had mothered a then married Charles 24, and Mary Anne 22, still keeping George Henry 19, William Edward 10, Rachel Alice 8, Arthur Gladstone 7, Florence Eliza 4 and Cyril Handel M 2.
Mr William Edward Hardy likewise worked underground at New Hucknall Colliery. Whereas parents later moved into Sherwood Street, his 1909 Q2 marriage with Miss Mary Jane Bowmer from B Winnings, finds their own Blackwell Road address. Heading that 1911 household is William Edward 20, with wife Mrs Mary Jane Hardy 20, parenting 1 year old son Thomas Edward. Their later held 36 King Street, Huthwaite address also homed daughter Mary, afterwards revealed by press and war pension records.
Private 16865 William Edward Hardy joined many miner colleagues recruited pit top enlisting at Sutton September 1914. Joining the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment began military training with the 12th Sherwood Foresters. Deployment to France October 1915 won three months Christmas home leave from a bullet wound in the foot. Return to the Western Front line then recognises 10th Battalion transferal when killed in action among those Flanders battlefields 6th August 1916, aged 26.
TWICE WOUNDED
Private Wm. Edward Hardy, 16865, 6th. Platoon, 10th. Battalion Sherwood foresters, met his death in France on August 6th. He was 26 years of age and married, his home address being 36, King Street, Huthwaite, and he was the third son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm Hardy, Sherwood Street. Private Hardy worked at New Hucknall Colliery previous to his enlistment in September, 1914. He went to France in October of last year, and at Christmas was at home with a bullet wound in the foot, which kept him from active service about three months in all. He was again wounded in action subsequently, and eventually, as stated, news arrived that he had been killed in action. The first intimation was the following letter, dated August 13th. and went to his wife:-
Dear Friend,-just a line to let you know that your husband got killed in action, and that he did his duty like a man would do. I am very sorry it happened, and I send my deepest sympathy to you. I know it will be a very hard blow for you, but I could not save him or I would have done. There is another thing that I will tell you; he is buried all right, and I will look after his grave while I am anywhere near it. I shall never forget the last words he spoke. They were "Just let my wife know and also my little lad" and I said I would. It has upset me to lose him, and I think I will close this letter, as I cannot tell you any more, because I am down-hearted myself. Remember me to our Lizzie when you get over it. I told my wife to come up to see if you were all right.-Yours truly, H. Walters
Walters is a Sutton man whose home is in Bishop Street. The official notification arrived last Saturday morning.
24 Jul 06 by Gary Elliott Updated 20 Jul 13