The Times/1919/Obituary/William John Hardy

MR. W. J. HARDY, F.S.A.

Mr. William John Hardy, M.A., F.S.A., who died on Thursday, at Sidlesham, near Chichester, from heart failure, was an accomplished antiquary and a man of many interests. Mr. Hardy, who was born in London on September 29, 1857, was the younger son of Sir William Hardy, Deputy-Keeper of the Record Office, an archivist who specialized in the medieval manuscripts. Mr. Hardy followed in the footsteps of his father, for both were connected with the Historical Manuscripts Commission, but the son developed in other directions. Besides editing State Papers and "Documents Illistrative of English Church History" (in which he collaborated with the Rev. H. Gee), he was an authority on such diverse subjects as postage stamps and bookplates, on each of which he wrote an authoritative monograph, which is among the best of its kind; in that on postage stamps he collaborated with Mr. E. D. Bacon. He edited Middlesex and Hertfordshire Notes and Queries from 1895 to 1898, and the first five volumes of Home Counties Magazine, 1899 to 1904. He also wrote books on the handwriting of the Kings and queens of England and on lighthouses. Mr. Hardy was Hon. M.A. of Durham University, and had been a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, serving on the Council for a number of years.