Robert Handley
In 1911 he was a boot repairer.
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
Robert was born in Irnham, Lincolnshire, the son of Joseph Pell Handley and his wife Eliza, and baptised in the parish church on 28 March 1880. The family had moved to Thrumpton, Nottinghamshire, by the time of the 1891 Census; Joseph was a shoe maker.
Robert married Ada Newman (b. 1885) in 1905 (reg. Nottingham) and they had five children, Joseph James (Sept. 1905), Evelyn May (June 1907), William Robert (Feb. 1911), John Thomas (July 1913) and Edna (1916 AMJ).
Robert a boot repairer, and his wife were living at 8 Risley Terrace, Castleton Street, Meadows, Nottingham, in 1911. Only two of their three children, Evelyn (3) and William (2m), were in the home on the night of the census. Their son Joseph (5) was with his maternal grandparents, James and Eliza Newman, at 5 Ford Street, Nottingham. John was born two years later and Edna in 1916.
Ada was recorded living at 20 Ebenezer Street, Nottingham, in 1921. Only three of her children, Evelyn, William and Edna, who were school age, were in the home on the night of the census. Their brother John was recorded at 34 Kings Meadow Road, Meadows, in the home of his aunt, Elizabeth Handley (61, unm) and uncle, Richard Handley (44, unm), two of his father's siblings. The eldest child, Joseph, had not yet been traced on the census.
In 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled Ada was working as a blouse machinist and living alone at 21 Providence Street, Nottingham. She died in September 1965 aged 80.
Ada's three sons, Joseph James, William Robert and John Thomas, survived their mother. Her daughter Evelyn May married Joseph Mills in 1932 and they were living in Nottingham in 1939; she died in 1970. Edna has not been traced after the 1921 Census but may have married in 1939 (Brown).
Robert Handley enlisted in Nottingham and served with the 2/4th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
The 2/4th was a Territorial battalion, formed at Wakefield in September 1914 initially as a reserve battalion to train recruits. The Battalion moved to Bulwell, Nottingham, in March the following year then to Strensall the following month when it came under orders of 187th Brigade, 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. The Battalion moved several times until in October 1916 it was based at Wellingborough.
On 15 January 1917 the Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 62nd (West Riding) Division.
Robert was killed in action on 27 November 1917 in the Battle of Cambrai and has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval.
He qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
CWGC History of the Cambrai Memorial (extract): The village of Louverval is 16 km from Cambrai. 'The Memorial commemorates more than 7,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South Africa who died in the Battle of Cambrai in November and December 1917 and whose graves are not known. Sir Douglas Haig described the object of the Cambrai operations as the gaining of a 'local success by a sudden attack at a point where the enemy did not expect it' and to some extent they succeeded. The proposed method of assault was new, with no preliminary artillery bombardment. Instead, tanks would be used to break through the German wire, with the infantry following under the cover of smoke barrages. The attack began early in the morning of 20 November 1917 and initial advances were remarkable. However, by 22 November, a halt was called for rest and reorganisation, allowing the Germans to reinforce. From 23 to 28 November, the fighting was concentrated almost entirely around Bourlon Wood and by 29 November, it was clear that the Germans were ready for a major counter attack. During the fierce fighting of the next five days, much of the ground gained in the initial days of the attack was lost.' (www.cwgc.org)
Original record revised and updated (RF, Aug. 2025)
Nottingham Evening Post, 'Roll of Honour', 27 November 1918: 'Handley. In ever-loving remembrance of Pte. R. Handley, K.O.Y.L.I., who was killed in France November 27th, 1917 (late of 28 King's Meadow-road). A supreme sacrifice. – From his loving wife and children, sisters and brothers and nephew Tom, also mother, father, sister and brother-in-law.'
(www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
Nottingham Evening Post, ‘In Memoriam’, 27 November 1919. Notices placed in memory of Pte R Handley by (1) wife and children, (2) Father, mother, sister and brother-in-law (3) Sisters and brothers.
Robert's son, Joseph James, enlisted in the Royal Engineers in 1942 (11424112). No other record yet found.
Photo of Robert Handley
Commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial, France (www.cwgc.org)