Pte 52865 Hyman Barnett Gadansky

• Age: 28
• From: Manchester
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• Died Sunday 22nd April 1917
• Commemorated at: Etaples Mil Cem
  Panel Ref: II.B.44A

Hyman Barnett Gadansky was born in 1889 in Prestwich, Lancashire, the son of Gordon Gadansky and his wife Leah (nee Cohen), of 28 Elm Street, Hightown, Manchester. His civil birth record shows the last name as Gadanskie whilst surviving military records list him as Cadansky. The CWGC lists him as Gadansky. Multiple spellings of the name are found on censuses and other records (Kedansky, Cadinsky, etc.). In addition, at some point the family appears to have adopted the surname Barnett.

He was the youngest child of Gordon and Leah (nee Cohen) Gadansky/Barnett, his parents were born and married in Russian Poland. His siblings Betsy, Julia, and Simon were born in Russian Poland; whilst David, Fanny, and Hyman himself were born in Manchester.

Based on the children’s birth dates and places, the family emigrated to the Manchester area between 1880-1885.

In 1891 the family is living at 89 Gordon Street, Manchester. His father is a slipper maker. Hyman is 2 years old.

In 1901 the family is living at 40 Adeline Street.  His father is a slipper finisher. Hyman is 12.

In 1911 Hyman is living at 28 Elm Street, Hightown, Manchester, with his parents, brother David and sister Fanny. Hyman is 21, single, and a cabinet maker.  The family is listed as Barnett.

He enlisted in Manchester and was serving with the 17th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 52865 when he died of wounds on 22/04/1917 aged 28.

He now rests at Etaples Military Cemetery in France. The five letter Hebrew abbreviation inscribed inside the Star of David on his gravestone can be translated as,

“May his soul be bound up in the bounds of eternal life” 

During the First World War, the area around Etaples was the scene of immense concentrations of Commonwealth reinforcement camps and hospitals. It was remote from attack, except from aircraft, and accessible by railway from both the northern or the southern battlefields. In 1917, 100,000 troops were camped among the sand dunes and the hospitals, which included eleven general, one stationary, four Red Cross hospitals and a convalescent depot, could deal with 22,000 wounded or sick. In September 1919, ten months after the Armistice, three hospitals and the Q.M.A.A.C. convalescent depot remained.

The cemetery contains 10,771 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, the earliest dating from May 1915. 35 of these burials are unidentified. It is the largest CWGC cemetery in France, and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Solders’ Effects show his beneficiary as his sister Fanny.

Pte. H B. Cadinsky is commemorated on the British Jewry Roll of Honour.

We currently have no further information on Hyman Barnett Gadansky. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.