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Roll of Honour

Hartlepool seafarers lost at sea

Hand, William

Trimmer
1, Back Frederick Street, West Hartlepool
Brierley Hill Staffordshire
22/5/1867
28/10/1915

Lost on the troopship HMS Hythe on October 28th, 1915.

The troopship HMS Hythe, which was sailing in the Dardanelles without lights to avoid detection by Turkish batteries, sank following a collision HMS Sarnia. One hundred and fifty-four out of the two hundered and seventy-five on board were lost, including William Hand of West Hartlepool.
William's wife Elizabeth was living at 1, Back Frederick Street, Hartlepool at this time.

William had been born in 1867 in Brierley Hill Staffordshire (although on the 1911 census he claims to have been born in West Hartlepool) He came from a large family who all appear to have moved from the Stoke on Trent area to West Hartlepool. In 1891, he can be found with his wife Elizabeth (nee McIver) a native of Hull whom he married in Hartlepool in 1886, two young children, his mother Mary Ann, three sisters and and two brothers. They were all in Florence Street, Longhill West Hartlepool very close to the steelworks where William was a puddler.

His 10-year old sister Selina is given as having been born in Hartlepool, although in 1881 her birthplace is also Brierley Hill. In 1881 and 1891, brother Richard was born in Hartlepool and as in 1881 he was only a tiny baby, the family must have arrived from the Midlands in 1880.

In 1911, William and his wife Elizabeth are in Kenilworth Street, West Hartlepool, in a 4-roomed house with 9 children aged from 6 weeks to 22 years of age. Elizabeth gave birth to 13 children, 11 of whom survived. In 1901 the family were living in Thornaby.