William James Hannah was born in Liverpool on 23rd June 1878, the eldest son of William Hannah and his wife Mary Jane (née Humphreys). William, born in the Isle of Man, and Mary Jane, born in Liverpool, married in 1876 at St Mary's Church, Liverpool. They had nine children. William had an older sister Edith, born 1876, and younger siblings Thomas, born in 1881, Henrietta 1882, Jessie 1884, Gertrude 1887, Herbert (Bertie) 1889, Frederick 1892, and Reginald 1895.
William was baptised in St. Peter's Church, Liverpool, on 13th April 1879, his father’s occupation engineer and parents’ residence Fairclough Lane.
In 1881 his parents, with three children, live at 3 Towson Street, Everton. His father is a 34 year old marine engineer, born in Kirkmichael, Isle of Man, his mother is 29 years old and was born in Liverpool. They have three children declared in the household; Edith J. is 4 years old, William is 2, and new born Thomas H.M. Also in the household is a relative Hannah Harper, 13.
The 1891 census finds them at 16 Carolina Street, Bootle, with seven children. His father, now shown as being 42 years of age, is a crane engine driver, his mother is 38. Edith is 14 years of age, William J. is 12, Thomas M. is 10, Henrietta is 8 and Jessie aged 6 are all scholars. Gertrude is 4 and Herbert is 1.
In 1901 the family, with nine children, is living at 82 Makin Street, Liverpool. His mother Mary Jane, married, 48, is head of household, His father is not in the household, perhaps being at sea. Edith J. is 24 and is a store room keeper, William is 22, employed as a time keeper (docks), Thomas aged 20 is a telephone operator, Henrietta aged 18 is a cigarette maker, Jessie 16, is a cashier (shop), Gertrude 14 is also a cashier in a shop, Bertie is 12, Frederick is 9 and Reginald is 5.
When he was 24, in the spring of 1902, William married Janet Danson in Liverpool. Their daughter Janet Gertrude was born on 18th February 1903. Tragically, his wife Janet died shortly afterwards in Mill Road Infirmary, aged 21, likely from childbirth fever.
His father William died in 1906 aged 58.
In 1911 William is living at 110 Walton Village, Walton, Liverpool. His widowed mother, Mary Jane Hannah, aged 59, is head of household; William is 32 years old and a dock labourer, his daughter Janet is 8. Of his siblings; Edith Jane is a 34 year old assistant housekeeper, Jessie 26 and Gertrude 24 are bookkeepers, Herbert, 21, is a freight clerk, Frederick 19, is a telephone electrician, Reginald, aged 15, is at school.
The family later moved across the river to Egremont, Cheshire.
Unfortunately William’s service record has not survived so the full details are not known, but we do know that he enlisted in Liverpool as Private 25582, 19th (Pals) Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment, giving his residence as Egremont. Based on the amount of the War Gratuity, it is likely that William enlisted in about August 1915. He would have trained in the UK before being sent to the front. At some point he was transferred to the 17th Bn K.L.R., then back to the 19th. William shipped to France with his battalion, disembarking at Boulogne on 7th November 1915.
William’s name appeared in the list of Missing published in the Liverpool Daily Post on the 18th September 1916. Both the 19th and the 8th Bns K.L.R. saw action on the Somme in the summer of 1916. Details are not clear but it is entirely probalbe that William was transferred to the 8th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment after being wounded.
In 1918 the 8th Battalion was in action during the second battle of Arras and the battles of the Hindenburg Line. The Hundred Days Offensive, the allied push that would eventually end the war began on 08th August 1918.
William was killed in action on 29th September 1918, aged 40.
He now rests at Anneux British Cemetery, Nord, France.
Anneux, Havrincourt and Graincourt were captured by the 62nd (West Riding) Division on 20 and 21 November 1917. Anneux remained in Allied hands until the following 6 December. It was recaptured on 27 September 1918, by the 57th (West Lancashire) and 63rd (Royal Naval) Divisions, acting with the 52nd (Lowland) and the 1st and 4th Canadian Divisions. These six divisions, with the New Zealand Division (which carried on the advance in October 1918), are most largely represented in the cemetery.
The original cemetery was made by the 57th Division Burial Officer and by various units in October 1918. At the Armistice it contained 131 graves but was then greatly increased when graves were brought in from the surrounding battlefields and small cemeteries in the area.
Anneux British Cemetery now contains 1,013 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 459 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate seven casualties believed to be buried among them.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
His family remembered William on the first anniversary of his death in the Liverpool Daily Post on 30th September 1919:
HANNAH - In loving memory of Private WILLIAM HANNAH, 19th K.L.R. (Pals), eldest son of Mrs M. J. Hannah and the late William Hannah, killed at Cambrai, September 29 or 30, 1918 after 3 1/2 years service. - Ever remembered by his Daughter, Mother, Brothers and Sisters, 68 Littledale Road and 15 The Summit, Liscard.
William earned his three medals. The 1914-15 Star appears to have been issued with incorrect initials, W.G., and the medal card notes ‘medals issued, no action unless returned’.
His daughter Janet Gertrude received his effects, including a War Gratuity of £17. His mother Mary Jane, living at 68 Littledale Road, Egremont, Cheshire, received the war pension as Guardian. She died in Birkenhead in 1924 aged 67.
His brother Reginald, aged 19, joined the 5th Bn K.L.R. as Pte. 200203 in June 1913. On 5th August 1914, the day after war was declared, he ‘absented himself’ and was declared a deserter.
His brother Bertie also served with the 5th K.L.R., and later with the King’s Africa Rifles, enlisting in March 1914 as Pte. 200282. He achieved the rank of Sergeant, and was discharged with a disability in May 1919.
In 1939 William’s only child, daughter Janet, 36, is a shopkeeper, chandlery. She is living at 13 Belgrave Street, Wallasey, with her married aunt, her father’s sister Gertrude, and her family.
Janet never married, and died in Chichester Sussex, in 1979, aged 86.
William is commemorated on the Victoria Central Community Hospital Memorial, Wallasey.
We currently have no further information on William James Hannah. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.
