James Henry Hardy
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
He was the son of Thomas and Fanny Hardy and the brother of Edith, William, Charles, Millicent and Grace Hardy. In 1921,they lived at 25, Grimston Road, Radford, Nottingham. James Hardy and Edna Kemp were married at Nottingham in 1939.
In June 1942, 425 Battery, 107th (The South Nottinghamshire Hussars) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) became part of one of the most famous and heroic defensive stands in the history of the British Army: the Battle of Knightsbridge (part of the Battle of Gazala) in the desolate deserts of Libya. Jim Hardy lost his life during these engagements.
The South Notts Hussars (SNH) were a Territorial Army artillery unit recruited primarily from Nottingham and the surrounding areas. 425 Battery specifically drew its men directly from the city of Nottingham.
By June 1942, the 107th RHA was equipped with 25-pounder field guns and attached to the 22nd Armoured Brigade. They were positioned inside a heavily fortified, open desert defensive perimeter ironically codenamed the Knightsbridge Box.
German General Erwin Rommel launched a massive panzer offensive that bypassed and then encircled these boxes, trapping the British forces in an area that became known as "The Cauldron".
The Climax: 5–6 June 1942 (The Death of a Regiment)
Following a failed British counter-offensive (Operation Aberdeen) on 5 June, the South Notts Hussars were left completely exposed, unsupported by their own tanks or infantry.
On 6 June 1942, the full force of the German Afrika Korps—masses of Panzer tanks and heavy infantry—swept down upon the SNH positions.
• Fighting to the Last Gun: 425 Battery, along with sister batteries 426 and 520, refused to retreat. The Nottingham gunners fired their 25-pounders over open sights directly into the oncoming German tanks at point-blank range.
• Overrun: The battle was a scene of absolute slaughter. Gun crews were blown apart one by one, but the survivors kept moving from gun to gun to keep firing. As German tanks literally overran the trenches, the remaining men used explosives to spike and destroy their own guns so the enemy couldn't capture them.
• The Result: By the end of the day on 6 June, the 107th Regiment was destroyed almost to a man. Virtually the entire regiment was killed, wounded, or captured as Prisoners of War (POWs). Their suicidal rear-guard stand, however, bought vital hours for the rest of the British 8th Army to escape a total rout.
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