Hardy

Harry James Hardy

Appears as:

Born:

Parents:

Unit:

No.:

Rank:

Died:

Grave/Memorial:

Hardy, Harry J

13 January 1897, Brockham, Surrey

James and Elizabeth (née Thompson)

8th Battalion Queen's Own (Royal West Kent) Regiment

G.2667

Private

22 June 1916, France, age 19

Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul, Nord-Pas-de-Calais,
France: II. E. 174

Biography:
Harry James Hardy was born, on 13 January 1897, in Brockham, Surrey. He was the son and third child of four of James, a police constable, and Elizabeth Mary (née Thompson).

In the 1911 census, Harry, then 14, was working as a gardener.

When war broke out, Harry volunteered. He was still working as a gardener. He was 19 when he signed up on 5 September 1914. He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 174 pounds.

On 12 September, he was posted to 8th Battalion Queen's Own (Royal West Kent) Regiment.

Harry James Hardy was killed on 22 June 1916. He is buried in grave II. E. 174 within the Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul, France.

Bailleul was occupied on 14 October 1914 by the 19th Brigade and the 4th Division. It became an important railhead, air depot and hospital centre, with the
2nd, 3rd, 8th, 11th, 53rd, 1st Canadian and 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Stations quartered in it for considerable periods. It was a Corps headquarters
until July 1917, when it was severely bombed and shelled.

The earliest Commonwealth burials at Bailleul were made at the east end of the communal cemetery and in April 1915, when the space available had been
filled, the extension was opened on the east side of the cemetery. The extension was used until April 1918, and again in September, and after the Armistice
graves were brought in from the neighbouring battlefields and the following burial grounds:- Pont-De-Nieppe German Cemetery, Reninghelst Chinese
Cemetery.

Bailleul Communal Cemetery contains 610 Commonwealth burials of the First World War; 17 of the graves were destroyed by shell fire and are represented
by special memorials.

Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension contains 4,403 Commonwealth burials of the First World War; 11 of the graves made in April 1918 were destroyed
by shell fire and are represented by special memorials.

Harry James Hardy is also commemorated on the memorial tablet
within Knaphill Holy Trinity Church.