Hannon, Henry Edward

Henry Edward Hannon was born on 1 August 1892, the only son of Henry  and Kathleen Hannon of Ardreigh House, Athy, County Kildare, Ireland. He attended Trinity House School and latterly Avnon School in Dublin before leaving Ireland. According to the DuRuviny’s Roll of Honour, he first worked in Avonlea, Saskatchewan as a ledger keeper for the Bank of Ottawa. By the 1911 Canada census Henry Edward had moved to Keewatin, Ontario and was working as bank clerk. He was a boarder living on Wharf Street at the time. The census gave 1911 as his year of immigration, possibly arriving in Halifax 28 January.

Henry Edward enlisted in Kenora on 25 August 1915 and was with the 52nd Battalion out of Port Arthur, Ontario. After a period of training, on 4 November 1915 the battalion moved by train to St John, New Brunswick, arriving on the 8th of November. On 22 November 1915 the 52nd Battalion sailed for Plymouth England, arriving on the 3rd of December, and from there they moved to Witley Camp for 6 weeks of training. The battalion left for France 20 February 1916.

Less than six months later, on 9 June 1916, Private Henry Edward Hannon was reported killed in action in the trenches at Maple Copse, a small plantation of about 900 metres east of the village of Zillebeke and just west of the Sanctuary Wood in Belgium. Lost without trace, he is honoured on the Menin Gate (Ypres) Memorial in Belgium along with the names of 55 000 others.

From the War Diary of the 52nd Battalion: On 7 June 1916 the Battalion was ordered to relieve the 43rd Battalion in trenches extending from Maple Copse to Gourock Road. 9 June 1916: ‘Hostile shelling continued heavy throughout day. ‘Owing to Cold and rain and continued shelling condition of men again becoming very bad and relief order welcomed.‘ Casualties on 9 June were 7 killed and 14 wounded.

Private Henry Edward Hannon is commemorated on page 98 of the First World War Book of Remembrance in Ottawa, the   Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial, on the Avonlea, Saskatchewan War Memorial, on the Keewatin Cenotaph in Beatty Park in Keewatin, Ontario, on the Lake of the Woods Milling Company Roll of Honour plaque, on the St James Anglican Church plaques in Keewatin, and on the Municipality of Keewatin plaque. At a service held in Keewatin in August of 1919, his next of kin would have been awarded a badge and medal in his honour had they been present.

by Judy Stockham

Avonlea War Memorial photo: Tim Forer as found on www.forces.gc.ca
Menin Gate Memorial panel photo: Marvin and Samme Templin on findagrave.com

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