Pte
Emmanuel Hankey
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 16/11/1897 |
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Place of birth: Northwich, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Labourer |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 50169 |
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Enlistment date: 12/11/1914 |
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Enlistment place: Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Cheshire Regiment, 9th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 20/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Hessian Wood, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 19 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 62 |
Distinctions and medals 3
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1914-15 Star Medal — 14/02/1920 |
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British War Medal Medal — 12/02/1921 |
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Victory Medal Medal — 12/02/1921 |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place |
My story
Emmanuel Hankey was born on 16 November 1897 in Northwich, Cheshire. He was the son of Emanuel and Phoebe Hankey. According to the 1911 census; Emmanuel, his father and his two brothers worked on a Northwich shipyard. At the age of 16, days before he would turn 17, Emmanuel enlisted in the army. He served with the 7th Cheshire Regiment at Gallipoli, suffered from frost bite and was taken to an Allied hospital in Mudros, Greece.
By the time of the Battle of Passchendaele Emmanuel was in the 9th Battalion Cheshire Regiment, part of the 58th Brigade of the 19th (Western) Division. On 20 September 1917 the 9th Battalion attacked along the Ypres-Comines Canal, on the utter south flank of the offensive.
The men advanced at 5.40 a.m. immediately facing German machine gun fire from the direction of Hollebeke Château. Emmanuel’s Battalion still managed to take Jarrocks Farm and Pioneer House, suffering only slight casualties. The first objective lay on the crest of a small ridge and was consolidated with relative ease. But once the Battalion went beyond the crest it came in full view of the German lines. The German machine guns opened fire, causing heavy casualties.
The left flank experienced difficulty with machine guns firing from May Farm, but on receiving reinforcements they were able to capture their objective at Potsdam Farm. On the right the troops experienced even more difficulty. They were held up by barbed wire in the quagmire that was Hessian Wood. With the help of reinforcements the final objective was eventually taken, but Hessian Wood wasn’t cleared till after 7.30 a.m.
The 9th Cheshire Battalion consolidated their final objective, forming a line roughly running from Potsdam Farm to Hessian Wood. The Battalion went into battle with 20 officers and 556 other ranks. An estimated 200 of them became casualty and were either wounded, killed or missing. Nineteen-year-old Emmanuel Hankey was one of the young men who fell during the attack on Hessian Wood. Emmanuel has no known grave and is remembered on panel 62 of the Tyne Cot Memorial.
By the time of the Battle of Passchendaele Emmanuel was in the 9th Battalion Cheshire Regiment, part of the 58th Brigade of the 19th (Western) Division. On 20 September 1917 the 9th Battalion attacked along the Ypres-Comines Canal, on the utter south flank of the offensive.
The men advanced at 5.40 a.m. immediately facing German machine gun fire from the direction of Hollebeke Château. Emmanuel’s Battalion still managed to take Jarrocks Farm and Pioneer House, suffering only slight casualties. The first objective lay on the crest of a small ridge and was consolidated with relative ease. But once the Battalion went beyond the crest it came in full view of the German lines. The German machine guns opened fire, causing heavy casualties.
The left flank experienced difficulty with machine guns firing from May Farm, but on receiving reinforcements they were able to capture their objective at Potsdam Farm. On the right the troops experienced even more difficulty. They were held up by barbed wire in the quagmire that was Hessian Wood. With the help of reinforcements the final objective was eventually taken, but Hessian Wood wasn’t cleared till after 7.30 a.m.
The 9th Cheshire Battalion consolidated their final objective, forming a line roughly running from Potsdam Farm to Hessian Wood. The Battalion went into battle with 20 officers and 556 other ranks. An estimated 200 of them became casualty and were either wounded, killed or missing. Nineteen-year-old Emmanuel Hankey was one of the young men who fell during the attack on Hessian Wood. Emmanuel has no known grave and is remembered on panel 62 of the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Sources 6
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"Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Uniform, 2018, pg. 76-77. Sources used |
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"The History of the Cheshire Regiment in the Great War", Crookenden A., Uckfield: The Naval and Military Press, s.d., pg. 119-121. Sources used |
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Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/ Further reference |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/838336/hankey,-emmanuel/ Sources used |
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The Long, Long Trail https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/ Sources used |
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War Diary Cheshire Regiment, 9th Bn. http://www.nmarchive.com/ Further reference |