Liverpool Pals Who Died on This Day

Hyman Barnett Gadansky was born in 1889 in Prestwich, Lancashire, the son of Gordon Gadansky and his wife Leah (nee Cohen), of 28 Elm Street, Hightown, Manchester. His civil birth record shows the last name as Gadanskie whilst surviving military records list him as Cadansky. The CWGC lists him as Gadansky. Multiple spellings of the name are found on censuses and other records (Kedansky, Cadinsky, etc.). In addition, at some point the family appears to have adopted the surname Barnett.

He was the youngest child of Gordon and Leah (nee Cohen) Gadansky/Barnett, his parents were born and married in Russian Poland. His siblings Betsy, Julia, and Simon were born in Russian Poland; whilst David, Fanny, and Hyman himself were born in Manchester.

Based on the children’s birth dates and places, the family emigrated to the Manchester area between 1880-1885.

In 1891 the family is living at 89 Gordon Street, Manchester. His father is a slipper maker. Hyman is 2 years old.

In 1901 the family is living at 40 Adeline Street.  His father is a slipper finisher. Hyman is 12.

In 1911 Hyman is living at 28 Elm Street, Hightown, Manchester, with his parents, brother David and sister Fanny. Hyman is 21, single, and a cabinet maker.  The family is listed as Barnett.

He enlisted in Manchester and was serving with the 17th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 52865 when he died of wounds on 22/04/1917 aged 28.

He now rests at Etaples Military Cemetery in France. The five letter Hebrew abbreviation inscribed inside the Star of David on his gravestone can be translated as,

“May his soul be bound up in the bounds of eternal life” 

During the First World War, the area around Etaples was the scene of immense concentrations of Commonwealth reinforcement camps and hospitals. It was remote from attack, except from aircraft, and accessible by railway from both the northern or the southern battlefields. In 1917, 100,000 troops were camped among the sand dunes and the hospitals, which included eleven general, one stationary, four Red Cross hospitals and a convalescent depot, could deal with 22,000 wounded or sick. In September 1919, ten months after the Armistice, three hospitals and the Q.M.A.A.C. convalescent depot remained.

The cemetery contains 10,771 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, the earliest dating from May 1915. 35 of these burials are unidentified. It is the largest CWGC cemetery in France, and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Solders’ Effects show his beneficiary as his sister Fanny.

Pte. H B. Cadinsky is commemorated on the British Jewry Roll of Honour.

We currently have no further information on Hyman Barnett Gadansky. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.

Edwin was born in Hoylake in the March quarter of 1899 the son of William Williams and his wife Lydia Ann (née Clark). Edwin was baptised on 9th April 1899.

His father, born in Heswall, and his mother, from Liverpool, married in Birkenhead in 1898 and had four children.  Edwin had younger sisters Mary, born in late 1900, but died at age 1, Lucy May born in 1902 died in infancy, and Agnes, born in 1903/4.

The 1901 Census shows the family are living at Hillside Road, Heswall. Edwin is 2 years of age, his father, William is a labourer by trade, born in Heswall, whilst his mother Lydia Ann was born in Liverpool. Edwin is the only son and has a baby sister, May who was born in 1901 and is 6 months old. Also present are two visitors and one servant. 

The 1911 Census shows the family are still living at Hillside Road. Both parents are still in the household, his father, is 43, and is an assurance agent,  whilst his mother is 44.  Edwin is 12, and Agnes is 7,  both are at school. Sadly, there is no record of May. 

His father died in the summer of 1913, aged 45, when Edwin was 14 years old.

Edwin enlisted in Liverpool and was originally serving with the 19th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 27362. 

The amount of the War Gratuity suggests that he enlisted in the spring of 1915, when he would have been 16 years old, having to lie about his age. Unfortunately, his service record has not survived, but the Medal Roll shows only overseas service with the M.G.C. so Edwin must have been transferred from the K.L.R. before shipping overseas.  He would have turned 19 in early 1918.

The Machine Gun Corps was formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front, with Infantry, Cavalry, and Motor branches. A depot and training centre was established at Belton Park in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and a base depot at Camiers in France. The Infantry Branch was by far the largest and was formed by the transfer of battalion machine gun sections to the M.G.C. These sections were grouped into Brigade Machine Gun Companies, three per division.  New companies were raised at Grantham. In 1917, a fourth company was added to each division. In February and March 1918, the four companies in each division were formed into a Machine Gun Battalion. 

The 29th Bn was formed on 15th February 1918 from the 86th, 87th, 88th, and 227th M.G. Companies, as part of the 29th Division. The 86th, 87th, and 88th Companies had joined the 29th Division on 26 February 1916, at El Kubri, Egypt, and the 227th joined the Division on 20 July 1917.  

In April 1918 they took part in the Battles of the Lys:  Estaires and Messines 10th-11th April, Hazebrouck 12th-13th, and Bailleul 13th-14th. 

Edwin was killed in action on 22nd April 1918, aged19.

He now rests at Cinq Rues British Cemetery in France where his headstone bears the poignant epitaph:

"IN THE BOYHOOD OF HIS DAYS HE PLAYED A MAN'S PART"

The cemetery was used chiefly by the field ambulances and fighting units of the 29th Division from April to August 1918 for the burial of Commonwealth casualties sustained during the German offensive. 

CWGC records show his next of kin as the late William and Lydia Williams of Ivy Cottage, Hillside, Heswall.

Edwin earned the Victory Medal and British War Medal, the latter being returned (code “RVB9/72, d.13/4/72”, significance unknown). 

His Army effects went to his mother and sister Agnes, and the War Gratuity of £13-10 to his mother (Soldiers’ Effects shows 31st Bn MGC). 

His documents were received in the Pension Office in December 1918, the reason for the delay not known. In March 1919 his mother, at Ivy Cottage, Hillside, was awarded a pension of 5/- a week backdated to November 1918. 

In 1939 his mother Lydia, 74, is still living at Ivy Cottage.  Living with her is married daughter Agnes, 35, a draper’s shop assistant, and her husband. 

His mother lived through the Second World War and died in 1948, aged 81. 

Edwin is commemorated on the following memorials-

St. Peter’s Church, Heswall

Heswall WW1 Roll of Honour

We currently have no further information on Edwin Williams, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.