First World War Centenary. 8: The Hardy Family at War

The Hardy Brothers

Oswald Hardy and his wife, Louisa, saw three of their sons go to war.

Harold Dowker Hardy, 2431, MC 

(Gunner) 4th Light Armoured Motor Brigade, (2/Lt.) 13th Battalion, Tank Corps

Military Cross

Lt. Harold Dowker Hardy, MC

Since there was no conscription in Ireland during the First World War, it is safe to assume that Harold enlisted in the army sometime in 1916, after he turned 18. [7]  In the previous year, the Royal Navy disbanded its Armoured Car Division. Conditions on the Western Front were unsuitable for the deployment of its armoured cars, so they were sent to other theatres of war under the command of the army. The armoured cars of the Royal Navy were merged with the Motor Machine Gun Service to form the Motor Branch of the Machine Gun Corps. The Motor Branch consisted of three units: motorcycles, whose sidecars carried a Vickers 303 machine gun; light armoured motor[car] batteries [4] (L.A.M.B.), with each battery consisting of four Rolls-Royce armoured cars along with their support vehicles; and light car patrols.

Rolls Royce at war in East Africa
Turret-mounted Vickers 303 machine gun with 360° sweep

Source: Bob Kelly

Insignia of the Light Armoured Motor Battery (L.A.M.B.)
Source: Rolls-Royce Armoured Car (Osprey)

Harold's military career started as a gunner in the highly mobile 4th Light Armoured Motor Battery, which joined the British East Africa Expeditionary Force, under the command of General Jan Smuts. Harold entered the East African theatre of war on 21 May 1916. The Tempest's Annual for 1916 describes him as "Gunner, Hardy, Harold D, Motor Machine Gun (Company). From Seatown Place, Dundalk." It is likely [3] that he received his training at the Motor Machine Gun Training Centre at Bisley Camp, Surrey, which lasted four months. As a gunner, he would certainly have received instruction and practice in firing the Vickers 303 machine gun. In addition, to basic training and fitness, he would doubtless have been given driving lessons, tactical training, and ASC tuition in car maintenance.

Vickers 303 Machine Gun

In late April 1916, the men of the 4th and 5th Light Armoured Motor Brigades sailed from Avonmouth with no idea of their destination due to tight security. The ship carried them along the western coast of Africa, calling at Cape Town, but it was not until they reached Durban that they were told of their mission in German East Africa,   From Durban, the brigades sailed north to Mombasa. The entire journey was about 9800 nautical miles, which, at an estimated 15 knots, would have resulted in one month at sea.

After disembarking at Kilindini Harbour [A], the 4th and 5th brigades went their separate ways.  The 4th LAMB boarded a train of the Uganda Railway, and travelled 160 km. inland to Voi [B], where their armoured cars were waiting. The vehicles had been offloaded at Kilindini Harbour and shipped by rail earlier. From Voi they travelled toward the border separating German East Africa (Tanzania)

LAMB vehicle being offloaded at Kilindini Harbour

from British East Africa (Kenya), stopping at Mbuyuni [C]. [5]  The 4th then moved westward, crossing the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, to Arusha [D]. Rain hampered further progress as the heavy vehicles became frequently bogged down in the mud. From Arusha the brigade move southward in pursuit of the Germans. At Dodoma [G ], they helped to seize control of the German-built Central Line Railway running from Dar-es-Salaam to Lake Tanganyika, then continued to push south to Iringa [F]. At this juncture, news came through that the German force was sighted too far to the south, and it was decided to call off the pursuit, and allow allied forces in the South to move northward to engage them. So, the brigade returned to Dodoma, and the armoured cars were transported by rail to Kilosa [H]. By the time the brigade reached Kilosa, it was judged to be

General route of the 4th LAMB in East Africa
click on images to enlarge

medically unfit to stay in the country. The debilitating, and potentially deadly, trio of malaria, blackwater fever and yellow fever, along with dysentry, had taken its toll, and the 4th Brigade was at less than half strength.  On 28 April 1917, The Dundalk Democrat, reported that Harold had developed a 'bad dose' of malaria, but that his condition was improving. From Kilosa, the remnants of 4th LAMB travelled to Dar-es-Salaam.

The 4th Light Armoured Motor Brigade was disbanded in the summer of 1917. Elements of the brigade, including Harold, were shipped north via Aden to Egypt. The armoured cars were garaged in Cairo. After leaving Egypt, Harold went to England to train as an officer in the Tank Corps. This would have been an unsurprising move. [6] Harold was already a gunner in the Motor Branch of the Machine Gun Corps (MGC), and tanks had formed the 'Heavy Branch' of the MGC, The Heavy Branch became the 'Tank Corps' on 28 July 1917. Harold's training would have been with the 24th Officer Cadet Battalion (Tank Corps) stationed at Hazeley Down, Twyford.

standing (l-r) William Mansell Beckett : Arthur Twidle : Bertram Francis Borland Belcham
Henry Linford Abbott : John James Napier Woodcock : Arthur Charles Barry : Frederick Arthur Brown
seated (l-r) Frank Harlow Newman (?) : Leonard David Huddleston : Reginald Hendon Waghorn
Harold Dowker Hardy : Harry Greenfield [11]

The photograph above was taken during the final quarter of 1917, most likely at Hazeley Down Camp, Twyford, in Hampshire. Each soldier in the group wears a peaked cap, with a white cap-band, signifying that they were cadets training to become officers. Fortunately, their names are recorded on the photograph, allowing a determination that they had joined the 24th Officer Cadet Battalion (Tank Corps). By the end of 1917, officers were in short supply due to heavy losses on the battlefield, and men from the ranks were encouraged to apply for officer training. At the end of four and half months of training, they were given ‘temporary’ commissions. The group stands in front of a corrugated building, the likes of which still survive at Hazeley Down.

At the end of his training, Harold was assigned to the 13th (formerly M) Tank Battalion, which was transferred from England to the Western Front on 31 January 1918. In February 1918, the 13th Bn. was stationed at Bray-sur-Somme, but was unequipped.[12]  It formed part of the 5th Tank Brigade. However, due to heavy tank losses in the Spring Offensive, the 5th Brigade was temporarily disbanded, and the men of the 13th Battalion, now absorbed into the 4th Brigade, were formed into Lewis gun units (or detachments) on 13 April 1918 [12: 175-76, 200].  On 16 April, these detachments were deployed to Boeschepe, and by 25th April, 13th Battalion became embroiled in the Second Battle of Kemmel Hill (part of the Battle of the Lys). This German attack was the opening of Operation Georgette, the second phase of Ludendorf's offensive.  During this operation, the 13th Battalion suffered heavy casualties. [14] Harold was lucky to be among the survivors.


The situation began to improved during June and July as the new Mark V tanks began to arrive in number, enabling the tank brigades to rearm.  Their arrival is described in the following:

 "... there arrived on the railway beside the main Amiens-Doullensroad, a few miles from corps headquarters, a succession of trains loaded with the 13th Tank Battalion monsters of the latest type, which crawled from the trucks to relieve another battalion, the 1st, furnished with the older type of tanks of which the 4th Australian Division had such disastrous experience at Bullecourt. With this arrival the 5th Brigade of tanks, lying in support of the Fourth Army’s front, became a completely modern force. [13]

British Mark V Tank (29 tons)
Inside: deafeningly noisy and rank with exhaust fumes

The reconstituted 5th Tank Brigade, which included Harold's 13th Battalion, was placed under the command of Brigadier General Anthony Courage, and its headquarters was established at Vaux en Amiénois.  The 5th Brigade was assigned to support the Australian Corps.[8]  On 4 July 1918, the 5th Brigade took the Mark V into action for the first time at the Battle of Le Hamel.

Battle plan showing locations of 13th Tank Battalion

13th Tank Battalion colours

The battle was a textbook example of cooperation between infantry, artillery, airplanes and tanks, with all objectives completed in an astonishing 93 minutes, and all doubts regarding the efficacy of tanks in battle were laid to rest.

Harold (centre) 1918. Somewhere in Picardie
The tank in the background carries the training number 778

Harold

By July 1918, Luddendorf's Offensive had run out of steam, and the Allies responded with a massive counter-attack, known as the Hundred Days Offensive.  It opened on the 8th of August, with the Battle of Amiens [22], an attack made by more than 10 Allied divisions and more than 500 tanks. The onslaught took the Germans completely by surprise, and their losses were high, causing Ludendorf to refer to it as the "Black Day for the German Army".  Harold's Mark V tank was among the 500 that went into battle. The advance continued the next day. and the 5th and 4th Tank Brigades attacked the front Framerville-Rosieres-Bouchoir with 89 tanks. It was at Vauvillers (Somme), on this front, that Harold and his crew were gassed. The Dundalk Democrat  (24 August 1918) reported the following:

Another Tank man, Lieut. Hardy, son of Mr Oswald Hardy, C P S, has been wounded in the recent fighting in which he had some remarkable experiences. We are glad to hear that he is getting on satisfactorily and expects soon to be at it again. 

The Gazette [pt 1 ; pt.2] states:

T./2nd. Lt. Harold Dowker Hardy, l3th Bn., Tank Corps.
On 9th August, 1918, when east of Vauvillers, his Tank was held up by an explosion of a dump of enemy gas shells, causing himself and his crew to be gassed. On recovering, he rallied his men, three of whom had meantime been wounded, got his Tank started again, and carried on with the fight. He went well ahead of his objective in order to crush several enemy machine-gun positions which were causing great trouble to the infantry, thus allowing the latter to consolidate their position in safety. It was owing to his grit and determination the objectives were gained and undoubtedly the lives of  many infantry saved.

For his gallantry, he was awarded the Military Cross. The Dundalk Democrat (1 March 1919) records:

Second Lieutenant Harold Hardy of the Tank Corps (son of Mr. Oswald Hardy, C P S, Dundalk) has been awarded the Military Cross for bravery, this set out in the official publication: - “On August 9, 1918, his tank was held up by an explosion of a dump of enemy gas shells causing himself and his crew to be gassed. On recovering he rallied his men, three of whom had meantime been wounded, got his tank started again and carried on with the fight. He went ahead of the objective in order to crush several enemy machine gun positions which were causing great trouble to the infantry, thus allowing the latter to consolidate their position in safety. It was owing to his grit and determination the objectives were gained and undoubtedly the lives of many infantry saved.” This is a fine achievement and Lieut. Hardy’s many friends in Dundalk will be proud that it has been signally recognised. 

It is difficult to know how long Harold was out of action after being gassed, but the 13th Tank Battalion went on to fight at the Second Battle of Baupaume (21 August – 1 September 1918) ; the Battle of Epehy (18 September 1918) and the Battle of St. Quentin Canal (29 September – 10 October 1918). On 11 November the war ended, and the 13th Battalion (5th Tank Brigade) under command of Brig. Gen. H.K. Wood was assigned to the army of occupation in Germany during 1919.

From 21 August 1918 to Armistice Day, some 2,400 men and officers of the Tank Corps were lost.

Temp. Lt. H. D. Hardy, M.C., relinquished his commission on completion of service, 4 June 1920, retaining the rank of Lieutenant.

Christmas 1917: a parcel from home (Harold third from left)

Harold

 

Lt. Wilfrid Hardy[2]  Royal Flying Corps (RFC) (192993 [17])

According to his military record, Wilfrid was born on 15th October 1899, though his birth was not registered until Jan-Mar 1900.  As a youth, he attended the Dundalk Educational Institute, which closed for the duration of the First World War. From May 1916 to February 1917, he was registered as a student at Trinity College, Dublin.

On the 10th of February 1917, Wilfrid Hardy walked through the Georgian door of 24 Great Brunswick Street, Dublin, and into another world.  It was the main British Army Recruiting Office in Ireland.  Wilfrid completed and signed Army Form B. 2505, stating that he was an eighteen years old clerk from Dundalk.    He then raised his right hand, swore the oath of attestation before Captain R.B. Irwin, and crossed the threshold from civilian to soldier. 

click on image to enlarge
24 Great Brunswick Street  (Pearse Street today)

Two weeks later, Wilfrid enrolled in the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps (OTC), and was assigned a service no. 10788. On the 16th of April 1917, he joined the Royal Flying Corps cadet school, which  taught military drill and basic skills. Wilfrid went from Cadet to Probationary Temporary 2nd Lieutenant on 23 May 1917. During this period, he would have attended the RFC School of Military Aeronautics at either Reading or Oxford. Wilfrid was confirmed as a Flying Officer during March 1918, and on 31 March 1918, he was sent to the No. 1 (Observers) School of Aerial Gunnery at Dymchurch on the coast of Kent.  On the 20th of April 1918, Wilfrid joined 92 Squadron at London Colney, Hertfordshire, which was  a scout squadron using Sopwith Pups, SPAD S.VIIs, and Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5s. A month later, he was transferred to 91 Squadron at RAF Kenley, which was equipped with Sopwith Dolphins. The RAF came into being on 1 April 1918. 

Wilfrid's wartime career was disrupted on the 11th of June 1918, when he was placed in the "non-effective pool". This was designed, in part, for those who required a period of time away from RAF duties (in excess of 3 months) for personal reasons. His personal reason was the need for medical attention, having contracted syphilis. Wilfrid was placed in the care of Grove Military Hospital in Tooting, which specialized in the treatment of infectious diseases. 

Wilfrid remained under the hospital's care until the end of 1919, but managed a promotion to aeroplane officer on 3 February 1919, while stationed at Northolt with the 30 Training Depot Station (TDS).

. 

Lieut. | [Air Service] | Hardy | Wilfrid |[age] 23 | [address] Seatown Place, Dundalk | Sept 27th 1922 |
 Baldonnel | S[ingle] | I[rish] C[hurch] | Father (next of kin) | Oswald Hardy, Seatown Place, Dundalk.
Source: Military Archives Ireland

The above entry is taken from the Irish National Army Census of 1922. It shows that Wilfrid was a serving officer in Ireland's National Army Irish Air Service, independent Ireland's first air force. Baldonnel Aerodrome was its headquarters, which is located south west of Dublin.

Lt. Sidney Arnold Hardy  

Royal Field Artillery (RFA) [16]

Service No. 100932

In the local County Louth directory, The Tempest for 1916, Sidney is described as a gunner in the 27th Battalion of the RFA (actually it was the 27th Brigade). The 27th Brigade RFA was part of the Fifth Division throughout the war.  In 1914, the brigade was stationed at Newbridge (Kildare, Ireland). 

Medal Card PRO Kew

Sidney was promoted from Officer Cadet to 2nd Lieutenant on 17 November 1917. His medal card shows that he entered the Western Front on 5 January 1918. During Sidney's tenure with the 27th, his fighting was confined to Hautes-de-France.  

With Russia out of the war, General Ludendorff launched Operation Michael (Kaiserschlacht) on the 21st of March 1918 near Cambrai. This represented Germany's final attempt at victory before  the introduction of American troops and materiel could tip the balance in favour of the Allies. During the spring and summer, the 27th Brigade was on the defensive in the face of  Germany's onslaught, but by August, the Allies were in a position to launch a counter-offensive, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which saw the Hindenberg Line breached. During the defensive period, Sidney saw action at the Battle of Hazebrouck, 12-15 April 1918 (the defence of Nieppe Forest). The Long, Long Trail website outlines the offensive phase:

"On 14 August 1918 the 5th Division was withdrawn for rest and placed in GHQ Reserve. Two weeks later it entered into the “Hundred Days Offensive”. Fighting through Albert (back on the old and devastated Somme ground of 1916), to Irles, Beugny, Havrincourt, Gonnelieu and the River Selle, and finally into Valenciennes and the River Sambre, the division was in more or less continuous action until late October 1918.

• The Second Battles of the Somme 1918 in phases
  • The Battle of Albert (under IV Corps) (21-23 August)
  • The Second Battle of Bapaume (IV Corps) (31 August – 3 September)
• The Battles of the Hindenburg Line in phases
  • The Battle of Épehy (IV Corps)(18 September)
  • The Battle of the Canal du Nord (IV Corps) (27 September – 1 October)
• The Pursuit to the Selle (IV Corps) (9-12 October)
• The Final Advance in Picardy in phase
  • The Battle of the Selle (IV Corps) (17-25 October)

The 5th Division remained in the area of Le Quesnoy until mid-December 1918. On 13 December, the division began a march into Belgium, eventually reaching the area between Namur and Wavre. The first men were demobilised on 22 December and more followed at regular intervals through early 1919."

Emigration

Harold and Sidney emigrated to Australia, and Wilfrid moved to British Guiana.  Family tradition holds that Harold, in particular, was motivated to move to Australia, because his lungs had been damaged by the poisonous gas he encountered during the war, and he thought he would benefit from Australia's more benign climate. However, that all three brothers decided to leave Ireland after war speaks to wider issues. First, their family was Church of Ireland. Second, two of the brothers were associated with the Auxiliaries of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and Sidney was involved with the Ulster Special Constabulary in Belfast. Both these organizations represented British interests. Generally, Irishmen, who had served with the British Army during World War I, were not welcomed home after the events of the 1916 Easter Rising and the War of Irish Independence. This situation is the dealt with in Sebastian Barry's fictional classic, A Long, Long Way.

Harold Hardy

It is almost certain that the 'H. D. Hardy', who sailed from London on the SS. Osterley, and who arrived in Fremantle on 23 February 1926, is Harold Dowker Hardy. [1]   He appears to have been the first of the brothers to emigrate.   Harold settled in Western Australia, living in and around Perth.  He married Nina Beresford Serjeant in 1927.

Source: The Bunbury Herald and Blackwood Express  Friday 17 December 1926
See also:  Geraldton Guardian   Thursday 30 December 1926 [9]

Source: Mirror (Perth)  Saturday 23 April 1927

Harold and Nina (1896-1968) had two children, Hugh Dowker and Nina Deirdre Hardy. Hugh was born 5 July 1928, and died of polio at the age of 20 on 9 November 1948.  Deirdre was born on 6 November 1930 and died in 1985. She married Stanley Robert Tremlett.  Their descendants still live in Western Australia.  Nina Hardy worked on the staff of the Bunbury Herald newspaper before she and her husband started farming in 1927. They purchased a cattle ranch and named it Inniskeen, [10] where they bred livestock, particularly Illawarra shorthorns.

Source: South Western Advertiser (Perth) Thursday 18 November 1948

The cattle brand of the Hardy ranch at Inniskeen, Cookernup
Source: Brands Directory (Western Australia) 1929

Harold Dowker Hardy died on 1 July 1985. His remains were cremated and buried at Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth. He was 86.

Sidney Hardy

Sidney left on the SS Orsova, departing from London, sailing via the Suez Canal, and arriving at the port of Fremantle on 30 April 1929. [1]

Sidney appears on the Australian Electoral Rolls, indicating that he was still alive in 1972. In 1949, he was living in Waroona, south of Perth.

Source: The West Australian 22 September 1938

His son's name was Oswald Gerard Hardy. He died 25 Jan 2019, and is buried at Fremantle Cemetery Palmyra, Melville City, Western Australia. He was a primary and high school teacher in the Perth area, and a keen rugby player for the Claremont Football Club, where he was known as 'Ossie'..

Of Interest

• A tank of the 13th Tank Battalion
• Battle of Le Hamel
• Instructions for the Training of the Tank Corps in France (1917)
• Service with the Auxiliaries of the Royal Irish Constabulary (Harold)
• Service with the Auxiliaries of the Royal Irish Constabulary (Sidney)

Harold: RIC Service No. 79819  /  Sidney 79202 [15]

 

Notes

[1] National Archives of Australia

[2] Wilfrid is sometimes spelled as Wilfred.
[3] The reconstruction of Harold's movements is largely based on the following sources: Gillww1 ; Interview with Sir Miles Thomas
[4] Known variously as Light Armoured Motor Batteries (L.A.M.B.) ; Armoured Motor Batteries (A.M.B) ; Light Armoured Batteries (L.A.B.) ; Light Armoured Car Batteries (L.A.C.B.).
[5] Sometimes rendered Mbuni, located 17 miles east of Taveta in Kenya, near Salaita.
[6] From the earliest days, men of the Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps were often drawn from the Motor Machine Gun units. In many cases the men never actually officially transferred.
[7] Harold's medal card shows that he did not receive the 1914-15 Star. He was born on 25 August 1898.
[8] Fuller: one company of the 13th Battalion to the 2nd and 5th Australian Divisions ; the 13th Battalion less one company to the 3rd Australian Division.  General Sir John Monash, commanded the Australian Corps : (presentation model).
[9] Hugh Serjeant worked for Western Australian Government Railways and retired in 1927.
[10] Named after Inniskeen village near Dundalk
[11] Beckett, Waghorn and Woodcock are mentioned in the the Gazette.  Newman: Inns of Court Officer Training Corps. Huddleston (Military Cross): Gazette ; ends commission: Gazette.
[12] Tanks in the Great War by Fuller has been used as the source for the 13th Tank Battalion during 1918. See: The Loop
[13] Vol. 6 of the Official History of Australia in the War 1914-1918, page 245.
[14] Two thirds of all the 13th Tank Bn. casualties for 1918 occurred during this operation. (source: CWGC)

[15] Public Records Office, Kew. H.O. 184, vol. 41 (21/2/1921-11/5/1921 : Jim Herlihy (1999) The Royal Irish Constabulary: a complete alphabetical list of officers and men, 1816-1922 (Dublin: Four Courts Press).

[16] Public Records Office, Kew

[17] Public Records Office, Kew. The main source for Wilfrid's career is AIR 76/208/193
[22]  The Battle of Amiens Order of Battle shows the 13th Tank Battalion fighting with the Australian Corps. Before the battle (30 June), the 13th Tank Bn. was located near Saint-Gratien, with its HQ at Vaux-sur-Somme.