Richard Marriott Hardy
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Richard was born in 1893 the son of James an agricultural labourer and Emma Hardy (née Clurow) of Cropwell Bishop Nottinghamshire. His father was born at 1852 in Norwich and his mother in 1851 at Cropwell Bishop. They were married in 1877 at Nottingham. Emma already had a daughter Mary Ann Cluro born 1874. James and Emma had ten children one dying in infancy. Richard's surviving siblings were Elizabeth b.1878, Sophia b.1882, William b.1883, Kate b.1887, David b.1888 Maud b.1889, Hannah b.1891 and Ada Annie b.1896. In 1911 census the family lived at Cropwell Bishop were shown as James Hardy 59 yrs an agricultural labourer, his wife Emma 60 yrs and their children, David 24 yrs a miner in gypsum pit and Richard 18 yrs a miner in a gypsum pit.
Private Richard Marriott Hardy enlisted at Nottingham and served with the South Notts Hussars before being transferred to the Machine Gun Corps. He was killed in action on 30th October 1918 and is buried in Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt (grave ref. Q.14). CWGC - Cairo War Memorial Cemetery (extract): 'At the outbreak of the First World War, Cairo was headquarters to the United Kingdom garrison in Egypt. With Alexandria, it became the main hospital centre for Gallipoli in 1915 and later dealt with the sick and wounded from operations in Egypt and Palestine ... Cairo War Memorial Cemetery ... was formerly part of the New British Protestant Cemetery, but plots B, D, F, H, K, M, O, P and Q were ceded to the Commission in 1920. Some graves were brought into these plots from elsewhere in the Protestant cemetery and in 1960, 85 First World War graves were concentrated from Minia War Cemetery, 200 km south of Cairo, where maintenance could not be assured.'
CWGC headstone personal inscription: 'Not forgotten' His brother David Hardy served with the Army Service Corps, he died in Nottingham on 1st March 1919 and is buried in New Basford Cemetery. 'In Memoriam', Nottingham Evening Post, 30th October 1919:- “HARDY. – In loving memory of our dear son Driver R. M. Hardy, died at Alexandria, October 30th, 1918. 'Tis one long year since our sorrow fell and still we mourn for the one we loved so well. – From father, mother, brother, and sisters, Cropwell Bishop.” Above courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918.
