Family tree

Harry Hackett was born in 1891 to Samuel and Maria Hackett. They lived at 46 High Street, Old Hill near Dudley, Staffordshire, (now West Midlands). Old Hill is in 'The Black Country' an area at the heart of the 19th century industrial revolution, it's also where I was born and raised and where I still live. Harry had five brothers Thomas, Levi, Samuel, Josiah and George and three sisters Edith, Myra and Alice. My direct relationship to Harry is via my 99 year old nan Annie Nock (nee Hackett) whose father Thomas (my great grandad) was Harry's older brother. 

Harry joined the Grenadier Guards in 1911, which at first would seem unusual for a 'Black Country lad', he fought with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First Battle of Ypres which was one of the first and most influential battles of the 1st World War and also had first hand experience of the unique and historic Christmas Truce of 1914.

Harry served  throughout the war and unfortunately died as a result of injuries sustained in battle just seven months before the end of the war. The links on the left hand side of this page attempt to show some of the information I've gleaned about our hero Harry.

Family tree

This is Harry's older brother Thomas who is my Great Grandad.

This is Harry and Thomas' father, called Samuel, who is my Great Great Grandad.

While researching Harry I also happened to stumble across the fact that his younger brother, also called Samuel Hackett, like so many others, 'lied about his age' and enlisted in 1915 when he was barely 16 years old. Samuel joined the Worcestershire Regiment, he fought in The Somme, was injured several times but managed to survive the First World War. Any information I've found about Samuel is listed here. By all accounts he had a 'challenging time' on all fronts as you will see from his disciplinary records.

Members of my family from not long after the First World War

 Sam Hackett is second from the left.

Sam in later years with his wife Frances. They were actively involved in running the Blackheath (West Mids) British Legion for many years.