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| Lieutenant George William Hanna, MM |
(Editor's note: Mrs. Jennifer Lawson
of Australia supplied copies of her family papers and photographs for
the preparation of this article. Her help and cooperation is acknowledged
with thanks.) |
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George William Hanna's father,
William John Hanna, was born in Magheralin, Co Down, Ireland, in 1842
according to his army record. He enlisted in the 27th Foot (The Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers) at age 18 and later transferred to the 31st Foot
(The Hampshire Regiment). Hanna the elder was one of the legions of Irishmen
who enlisted in the British Army during the 19th Century, for the oft-quoted
reason no other means of earning a living was available to them. Irish
nationals served the British Army throughout the 20th Century, too, but
the 19th was a century of heavy Irish enlistment.
William Hanna served six years of his military career in India. He spent
only the last few months of his service at Tregantle Fort, Whitesand
Bay, Cornwall. During the French war (1793-1815), Tregantle guarded the
approaches to Devonport. He was fortunate to have served during a period
of calm in the colonial wars of the 19th Century British Army. So to
have attained the rank of colour sergeant by the age of 36 in 1878 was
no mean achievement. Fortunate in one way, Sergeant Hanna was unfortunate
in another. He applied for, and was granted, a discharge in 1878, most
likely for medical reasons because he was given a pension of eight shillings
a week.
On his discharge, he moved to Westminster were he married Elizabeth
Trotman. They had three children: George, Mary and John. Disaster struck
the family when George Hanna died at the age of 48. The widow Hanna and
the children continued living at the same at the same address after her
husband died. |
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Like many an army widow before and after
her, Elizabeth Hanna was soon in need of the Army's charity. She
lived in Westminster and the depot of the 31st Foot was in Hampshire,
which meant her appeal for help had to be made by correspondence.
Elizabeth Hanna was obviously a capable woman well able to explain
her situation for help. The commanding officer of the 31st signed
a Petition for a Soldier's Son for admission to the RMA of the Hanna
brothers.
George Hanna was the first to be admitted. His younger brother,
John, followed when he was old enough for enter the RMA. The
documents relating to the admission of the Hanna brothers - and what
is known of the subsequent career of the elder brother - provide
an insight into late 19th Century protocol for the acceptance of
boys to the Royal Military Asylum. |
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Relevant extracts from
the Petition of John Hanna |
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items of significance in the documents are worth noting. One is that
the school authorities required submission of the boy's birth and
baptismal certificates; baptism evidently being an important consideration.
The second item is a statement of the examining doctor before admission
that the candidate would be fit for military service when he was
ready to leave the institution. George Hanna (1880-1955) was admitted
to Chelsea in 1891. He left in 1895 at age 15 to enlist in the Duke
of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment with the rank of boy soldier.
[The year following his leaving, the Royal Military Asylum was officially
renamed the Duke of York's Royal Military School, although it was
known from the beginning of its existence as the Duke of York's School. |
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Extracts from documentation
of John Hanna provide a clearer indication of the information required
for an applicant's admission. Proof that the applicant for admission
had reached a specified standard of education appears to have been
a fairly new addition to the Petition for a Soldiers' Son form.
The requirement might well have stemmed from the National Education
Act of 1870, although there is no direct evidence that there is
a connection. |
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| George William had a long military career that
took him to Shorncliffe, Pietermaritzburg (Natal), Bangalore, Rangoon (Burma),
and South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War (1901-1902). For service in
South Africa he received the Queen's Medal. He also served in World War
One and awarded an MM (Military Medal), which his granddaughter, Jennifer
Lawson believes was won at the third Battle of Ypres in 1917. He was given
a field commission in the rank of Second Lieutenant and later promoted
to full Lieutenant. George married Elizabeth Taylor in November 1915 and
remained in the Army until his retirement. |
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| Pte George William Hanna early in his
military career in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment
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George and Elizabeth shortly after their marriage
in 1915
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George and Elizabeth in retirement
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| Similarly, George's younger
brother John had a military career, serving before and during the First
World War. John was unquestionable in the school band and played the
trombone, for he had a dance band after leaving the army. He married
his sweetheart Rose. They had no children of their own, but were closely
involved in the lives of George and Elizabeth's family. |
