1914 - 15 Trio.
Edward VII Naval Long Service & Good Conduct Medal.
PLY-7115 Pte. F. S. Hansard, R.M.L.I.
Frederick Sidney Hansard was born in Aston, Birmingham on 13th June 1870. He enlisted in the Royal Marines on 14th June 1894 and began his training at the RM Depot at Walmer. His Service Record describes him as being 5' 6" in height with a dark complexion, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. During the following years he passed his musketry and gunnery drills, saw overseas service in Malta and Gibraltar and served on a number of ships, including HMS Majestic, Bulwark and Hermione. He received his Long Service Medal in 1909, having completed 15 years of service.
The outbreak of the First World War found Frederick serving aboard HMS Berwick, a Monmouth Class armoured cruiser. On 13th June 1915, having completed 21 years with the Marines, he was enrolled in the Royal Fleet Reserve. On 26th March 1916, he joined the crew of HMS Avenger, an armed merchant cruiser, which was torpedoed by the German U-Boat U69 in the north Atlantic on 14th June 1917. More details here:
Frederick Hansard's next ship was equally unlucky. On 23rd July 1917, he joined HMS Champagne, an auxiliary cruiser with a complement of 305 (34 officers and 271 other ratings), which was sunk in the Irish Sea on 9th October 1917, after a fight with the German submarine U96 during which three torpedoes struck the ship. 5 officers and about 50 men were lost. Details of the action can be read here:
The Sinking of HMS Champagne.
Frederick next served on HMS Cordelia, a light cruiser that had seen previous action at Jutland, staying with this ship until 31st March 1918. A duplicate Long Service Medal was issued to him in October 1918; his original medal had presumably gone down in one of the torpedoed vessels. In February 1922, his 1914-15 Trio was issued and in June of the same year, he was discharged from the Royal Fleet Reserve. Frederick Hansard died at the age of 72 in Birmingham in 1942.
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