Follow Us
Like Us
Historical records matching Sir Harry Hands, KBE
view all 13
Immediate Family
-
-
daughter
-
-
-
-
father -
mother
-
sister
-
brother
-
brother
-
sister
-
brother
About Sir Harry Hands, KBE
- Birth registration, Oct-Dec 1860, Kings Norton, Worcestershire: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NCT-G9H
- User genealogy gives christening date as 18 Sept 1860: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/3SKC-NTV
- 1871 Census record - in King's Norton, still at school aged 10, with family: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5YP-8FK
- 1881 Census, in King's Norton, now an accountant's clerk aged 20, still living with his family in "The Village": https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKXZ-N8KD (NOTE: all siblings' and parents' names and dates of birth have been calculated from this record - so all DOBs may be one year out. Father's name confirmed in the "tanniemossie" site mentioned below.)
- Marriage record not found, but this user genealogy says it was on 6 October 1886 in Worcestershire, England: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/3SKC-NTV
- Two stints as mayor of Cape Town: Harry Hands (1912 - 1913) and, after John Parker, first Mayor of Greater Cape (1913 - 1915), again as Sir Harry Hands (1915 - 1918): https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/mayor/Pages/FormerMayors.aspx - so he must have been knighted around 1914.
- He was awarded a KBE (Knight of the British Empire) for his sterling service to recruiting in South Africa, as Mayor of Cape Town in WW1.
- He was also awarded the Order of Leopold of Belgium.
- A great deal of information about his life, work as mayor and family here: https://tanniemossie.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/cape-town_s-wwi-ma...
- In the abovementioned document, Sir Harry is credited with creating the worldwide tradition of observing a 2-minute silence in honour of the war dead, after hearing the news of his own eldest son being killed in France in 1918, whilst serving as Mayor of Cape Town. The news of the ceremony was spread by Reuters news agency all over Great Britain and throughout the Dominions, including Canada and Australia.
- The family lived at Talana, Claremont.
- Death certificate attached as source.
- Photo of grave here: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=140977103 - appears to show a memorial for his son (Major) P.A.M. Hands, d. 1951
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Hands). The entry for Two-minute silence also credits him with the origin of the custom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-minute_silence
- RootsWeb discussion gives some details about Sir Harry and one of his sons (Kenneth): http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SOUTH-AFRICA/2002-02/...
- All three of his sons were distinguished sportsmen, playing cricket and rugby for the national team, as well as bright students. All won Rhodes Scholarships and all studied law at Oxford (although one went on to follow his father into accountancy).
- Father-in-law Philip Albert was in the Cape Legislative Assembly Philippus Albertus Mijburgh, b2c3d2e12f2
view all 11
Sir Harry Hands, KBE's Timeline
| 1860 |
September 18, 1860
|
King's Norton, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1887 |
1887
|
||
| 1888 |
July 26, 1888
|
Claremont, Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
|
|
| 1890 |
March 18, 1890
|
Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
|
|
| 1892 |
March 22, 1892
|
Stellenbosch, Cape Winelands, Western Cape, South Africa
|
|
| 1948 |
March 17, 1948
Age 87
|
Claremont, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
|
|
|
1948
Age 87
|
Maitland Cemetery, Maitland, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
|
||
| ???? |
Hands and Shore, Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
|
||
| ???? |
King Edward School, Birmingham, England (United Kingdom)
|