Francis Jack Hind – Royal Engineers, 756 Field Company

Lance Corporal Francis Jack Hind – Royal Engineers, 756 Field Company

William Hind and Lucy Alice Strawbridge marriage certificate Christ Church, Swansea

Francis Jack Hind was born in 1910 in Swansea, the eldest child of William Hind and Lucy Alice Strawbridge, who had married on Christmas Day 1909 at Christ Church, Swansea. His early years unfolded within a household rooted in public service and steady employment.

Family Life in 1911 – Oxford Street, Swansea

1911 Census

The 1911 Census records the Hind family living at 162 Oxford Street, Swansea. William, aged 32 and born in Cumberland, was serving as a Police Constable, while Lucy Alice, aged 31, managed the household. Their only child at that time was Francis Jack, then just five months old.

Family Life in 1921 – Written as a Paragraph

1921 Census

By the 1921 Census, the Hind family were still residing at 162 Oxford Street, where William, now aged 42, was employed as a Platelayer by the Swansea Harbour Trust, and Lucy Alice, also 42, continued to undertake household duties. Their children—Francis Jack, aged 10; Frank Gilbert, aged 8; Jessie Manley, aged 6; and Dorothy Lucy, a baby of three months—were all present in the home, with the older three attending school part‑time. The census paints a picture of a growing, industrious household rooted in the working life of central Swansea.

Marriage and Early Adulthood

Francis Jack Hind and Olive Beatrice Manners marriage certificate St. Mary's Church, Balham, Wandsworth

1939 Register

In 1935, Francis married Olive Beatrice Manners at St. Mary’s Church, Balham, Wandsworth. By the 1939 Register, Francis was working as a Bricklayer, while Olive undertook household duties. The couple were living at 24 Woodville Road, Mumbles, returning to the familiar landscape of Swansea Bay.

756 Field Company, Royal Engineers – The Unit Behind the Advance

To understand Francis’s wartime experience, it is essential to appreciate the nature of the unit he served with: 756 Field Company, Royal Engineers. Field companies were the backbone of the Army’s mobility—technical units that worked directly behind the front line, enabling infantry and armour to advance.

In 1944, 756 Field Company operated across Normandy and northern France, performing tasks that were both physically demanding and perilous. Their duties included:

• Road repair and maintenance under shellfire, keeping supply routes open

• Mine clearance ahead of infantry attacks, often in newly captured territory

• Construction of defensive positions, including machine‑gun posts

• Operating water points and hot shower facilities for exhausted troops

• Clearing debris and dust from roads to allow armour to move

• Reconnaissance of destroyed bridges and planning emergency crossings

• Building major Bailey bridges, including a 130‑foot Class 40 bridge erected under enemy fire

These operations placed the company in dangerous forward areas, frequently exposed to bombing, artillery fire, and the hazards of unexploded mines. Their work was indispensable: without the Royal Engineers, the Army could not move, fight, or supply itself.

Francis Jack Hind
Oystermouth Cemetery, Mumbles
credit - findagrave

Francis, trained as a bricklayer in civilian life, would have been well suited to the technical and construction‑based responsibilities of the Engineers. His role as Lance Corporal placed him among the men who physically built, repaired, and cleared the infrastructure that allowed the British Army to advance through France.

Death and Burial

Francis Jack Hind died on 25 November 1944, during the final months of the war. His passing marked the loss of a trained and dependable soldier whose skills contributed directly to the wider military effort. He was laid to rest at Oystermouth Cemetery, where his name stands among Swansea’s wartime dead—men whose service and sacrifice remain part of the city’s enduring memory.