Fellow local historian, Cynthia Budd, has meticulously researched the men listed on the Great War Memorials throughout the Shellrock Benefice (Great Ellingham, Little Ellingham, Rockland All Saints, Rockland St Peter and Shropham with Snetterton).
She has kindly allowed me to reproduce her tributes to the Great Ellingham men, on the Great Ellingham One-Place Study website.
Great War memorial tablet on the west wall of the Church of St James, Great Ellingham
The following is Cynthia’s piece commemorating Stoker/Petty Officer 235864 Edward W J Hannan, Royal Navy:
Edward was born in Putney 24 February 1890. His father was Patrick George Hannan, an Irish born labourer and his mother was Rose, nèe Jessup, who was born in Old Buckenham. They married in Wandsworth District in 1889. Rose already had a daughter, Hannah, born in Thetford in 1882.
On census day 1891 Edward, aged 13 months, was with his parents and half-sister in Putney. Shortly after the census Edward's sister Mary Alice was born. On census day 1901 Edward, aged 11, was in St Mary's Orphanage, Heston St Leonard, Middlesex. His father's death had been registered in the second quarter of 1900, but his mother was alive and living in Battersea with his siblings: Patrick aged 6, Sarah aged 2 and Ivy aged three months. His sister Mary Alice, aged 9, was in a Convent Orphanage in Upper Norwood.
Edward joined the Royal Navy 17 February 1906, aged almost 16, he had been working as a Factory Lad. His Service Record reveals that his Navy career was not straightforward. He served for six months then his 'free discharge was approved on the clear understanding that he would not be allowed to re-join the Royal Navy in any circumstances'. During this time his character had been 'Very Good'. Despite this, he re-joined on his 18th birthday, 24 February 1908 signing up for 12 years' Service. He was then 5' 6" tall with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. The next entry shows him signing up again for 12 years' Service, 29 January 1910, he was then 5' 7½" and had gained a tattoo of an anchor on his right forearm. It was noted in his Record that his re-entry into the Royal Navy was made 'inadvertently' but had been allowed. There is no record of him having served on any ships in 1908 or 1909. From January 1910 he served on several ships, firstly as a Stoker 2nd Class. In February 1911 he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class and, after two further promotions, became Stoker/Petty Officer 12 March 1915. His character throughout his Service was 'Very Good' and he passed the required Navy examinations.
On 21 April 1914 Acting Stoker/Petty Officer Hannah was assigned to the armoured cruiser HMS Black Prince. Just over two years later on 31 May 1916, he and over 850 of his shipmates lost their lives during the Battle of Jutland when the Black Prince was sunk by the German Navy. During the Battle the Black Prince became separated from the Fleet and was attempting to re-join. What the Captain thought were British vessels turned out to be German and they opened fire before the Black Prince could alter course. She was hit and disabled and drifted past a line of German ships which all opened fire. The final salvo came from the German Flagship 'Frederick the Great' and the Black Prince exploded and sank without trace. The tragic news was officially conveyed to his mother on 6 June. Sometime after census day 1911, when she was still in London and May 1916, she had moved to Hingham Long Road Cottages, Great Ellingham. She would almost certainly have heard the news of the sinking of the Black Prince before the letter arrived. By 1922 she had left Great Ellingham and it is possible that Edward had never visited the village.
Edward was awarded the Victory and British War Medals and the 1914-15 Star. In addition to his commemoration on the Great Ellingham Memorial, he is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
With many thanks to Cynthia Budd and Chris Clarke.
Cynthia’s sources. Please note that the sources include research carried out in relation to all the ‘fallen’ of the Great War throughout the Shellrock Benefice. Accordingly, not all the sources will be applicable to Great Ellingham :
Ancestry UK: Birth, Marriage, Death and Parish Records. Census Records and Electoral Rolls. Probate Records.Military Records; Army/Navy Service Records. UK Soldiers Died in the Great War Roll. Medal Index Cards. Medal Award Rolls. The Register of Soldiers’ Effects. War Diaries. Canadian Military Records.
Archant Archives, Norwich. Also Thetford Library; The Thetford & Watton Times.
Australian War Records Websites: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
FindMyPast; Military Service Records. Electoral Rolls. British Newspaper Archive. The 1939 Register.
The General Record Office.
The History of the Norfolk Regiment 1914-1918 F Loraine Peter OBE
The London Gazette
The National Archives
The Norfolk Heritage Centre, The Forum, Norwich. Breckles and District Deanery Magazines. Norwich Mercury (Microfiche)
The Norfolk Record Office.
Norwich Cathedral Library; 1919 Diocesan Roll of Honour.
Picture Norfolk https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries/picture-norfolk
The Red Cross https://grandguerre.icrc.org
Various Regimental Websites.
Additional material Chris Clarke