Frank Hanchett - World War 1 - Belgium

[DeanneandTony]

Hello

I have a couple of questions:

I am trying to find a death certificate for Frank Hanchett (Lance Corporal) who was killed in Belgium on May 2nd 2015.  There is no known grave for him and he is commemorated on the Menin Gate.

I have looked on the GRO to order a death certificate but I can't find one so wondering where I go.

Also, is there anywhere on line that would have details for him.  I think that he lied about his age and place of birth and that he was actually two years younger and Thomas Frank son of Philip and Mary.

On the 105th Anniversary of his death (today) I'd love to be able to put the pieces together.

Deanne

[cath151]

Hi
Was he born in Farnborough Hampshire, Mother Mary Jane Hanchett?
If so his service records are available on FindMyPast, it states he died of poison gas in France.
You can get a death certificate from the GRO
It is indexed under British Armed Forces and overseas deaths
Hanchett Frank  L/corp  3/8666 Dorset Reg   1915 vol 1.61  page 211

There is not always a lot of detail on a WW1 certificate, often just K.I.A
His will is available online  https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Wills?Surname=hanchett&SurnameGrants=hanchett&YearOfDeath=1915&YearOfDeathGrants=1915&IsGrantSearch=False&IsCalendarSearch=False#soldiers

Cathy

[CaroleW]

His service record is also on Ancestry.  If you don't have a subscription to either Ancestry or FindMyPast then when the libraries re-open many have free Ancestry access

[MaxD]

He served with 1st Battalion.  Their war diary can, at the moment, be downloaded free from the National Archives, you just have to register:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7352277

On 2 May 1915 among other casualties, one officer and 32 other ranks were killed by gas and many others admitted to field ambulances suffering the effects.

MaxD

[jim1]

When you view the diary you will see that the Dorsets were at Hill 60 on the 5th.
At 8.35 am. that day the Germans laid gas nozzles in front of the British trenches.
Your man would have been one of those casualties.
This was one of the first occasions that gas was used during the war.
The 1st. being in April at St. Juliaan on the Ypres salient.
It was also the place where the largest man made explosion took place the
following year when 25 tunnels were dug into the hill & blown up.
Below is a map of where he was.
The British lines are blue & Germans red.
The side-by-side map shows you then & now.
Hill 60 is in square 29 between the railway track & Zwarteleen.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=50.82435&lon=2.92728&layers=101464897&right=BingHyb