Part 101

=HOCKING, FRANCIS JAMES=, D.C.M., L.-Sergt., No. 1027, 1/7th Battn. The Middlesex Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of William Hocking, of The Gardens, Copley Dene, Cholmeley Park, Highgate, Head Gardener, by his wife, Fanny, dau. of Richard Lovejoy; _b._ Kentish Town, N., 8 Oct. 1893; educ. Whittington School, Highgate Hill, and Acland Higher Grade School, Fortress Road, N.W.; and subsequently obtained an appointment at the Railway Clearing House; joined the 7th Middlesex Territorials, 3 Jan. 1910; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; left England with his battn. for Gibraltar, 4 Sept. 1914, returned to England 13 Feb. 1915; was appointed L.-Sergt. 9 March; went to France four days later; was severely wounded on 7 May, and died in the 1st London General Hospital, Camberwell, 18 May, 1915; _unm._ He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal [London Gazette, 5 Aug. 1914] “For gallant conduct and resource on the night of 7 May, 1915, when with a party covering important new works between our own and the German lines. The enemy stalked the party, and rushed on them from flank and rear. L.-Sergt. Hocking continued to act with the greatest courage and coolness, although severely wounded, and gave a fine example to his men of steadiness and devotion to duty.” Capt. (now Major) S. C. Smith, Commanding “A” Coy., wrote: “I have known your son since he joined and I think can give no higher praise than to say he was thoroughly worthy of the rank he held; he was trusted and respected by all of us, both below and above him in military rank. Although under the recent double company organisation I did not, perhaps, come into such personal touch with him as I did before, nevertheless I was able to watch closely his military career, which was in every way as successful as it could possibly be; his platoon commander, Lieut. Groser, I know, respected him highly as a section commander. I saw him directly after the affair in which he was wounded and was struck by the heroic way in which he was bearing the pain of his wound, which one could see was, at the time, great. His behaviour during the fight was magnificent, and although wounded, he did much to help drive off the Germans; he has in consequence had his name sent in to Army Headquarters for special recommendation, and had he lived he would have had the satisfaction of knowing that he was not wounded in vain.” Lieut. Groser also wrote: “As you know I was with your son when he was wounded, and as his platoon commander, I was much in contact with him the whole time that we were in France, so that I probably knew him as well as anyone in the battn. He was a most valuable non-commissioned officer to me, and I always felt that he was absolutely to be relied upon, if at any time we should find ourselves in difficulties. The men in No. 3 platoon liked and respected him, and he was always a friend to every private, even the newest joined. On the night of 7 May, when he was lying wounded on the ground, he continued to fire at the Germans (who at that point were 15 against 7), and was largely instrumental in driving them off. I repeat that incident because that was typical of your son--he did not know when beaten, even when wounded and all odds against him.” He was buried in Highgate New Cemetery, with full military honours and a memorial was unveiled there, July, 1916.

=HOCKING, WILLIAM JOHN=, Private, No. 13506, 5th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, eldest _s._ of the late William John Hocking, of St. Budeaux, Devonport, Coy. Sergt.-Major, R.E., by his wife, Annie (1, Waverley Villas, Vicarage Road, St. Budeaux, Devonport), dau. of Richard Slemon, of Bull Point; _b._ Halifax, Nova Scotia, 10 Sept. 1889; educ. Devonport; returned to Canada in 1905, and settled at Moose Jaw, Sask.; was a Clerk; joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; came over with the first contingent in Oct.; went to France in Feb. following, and died at Rouen, 21 May, 1915, from wounds received in action at Hill 60, on 28 April. Buried at Rouen; _unm._

=HODDEN, HENRY ERNEST=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./12473, H.M.S. Hawke, _s._ of Thomas Hodden, of 66, Ifield Road, South Kensington; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=HODGE, DORRIEN EDWARD GROSE=, 2nd Lieut., 1st Battn. Suffolk Regt., 2nd _s._ of the Rev. Edward Grose Hodge, Vicar and Rural Dean of Paddington and Prebendary of St. Paul’s Cathedral; _b._ Anningsley Park, Chertsey, co. Surrey, 25 May, 1893; educ. Marlborough College (treble scholar) and Pembroke College, Cambridge (graduated with Classical Honours), was a member of the O.T.C., joined the army following the outbreak of war, gazetted 2nd Lieut. 29 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action near Ypres 27, April, 1915. Buried behind the trenches; _unm._

=HODGES, HAROLD=, Private, No. 2948, 13th Battn. (Princess Louise’s Kensington) The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest _s._ of the late Robert Hodges, of Charmouth, Dorset, by his wife, Sarah (23, Redesdale Street, Chelsea, S.W.), dau. of James Turrell; _b._ London, 12 Oct. 1893; educ. Holy Trinity School, Chelsea; was a Clerk; joined the Kensingtons in Sept. 1914, after the outbreak of war; went to France, Feb. 1915, and was killed in action during the attack of the 8th Division on the German position at Fromelles and Aubers Ridge, 9 May, 1915; _unm._

=HODGES, HAROLD WARDALE=, 2nd Lieut., 6th (Reserve) 2nd Battn. King’s Royal Rifle Corps, elder _s._ of Herbert Chamney Hodges, of Watton-at-Stone, Hertford, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. Lond. by his wife, Dora Katherine, dau. of the Rev. John Wardale, and nephew of Lieut.-Col. Aubrey D. T. P. Hodges, C.M.G., M.D. Lond., P.M.O. for Uganda and Director of Medical Supplies in East Africa; _b._ Watton-at-Stone, 14 Oct. 1893; and was educ. at Epsom College, at which he obtained senior, junior, and leaving scholarships, and Hertford College, Oxford, where he obtained an Exhibition, took “First” in Classical Moderations, and was made an Hon. Scholar. He was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 6th K.R.R.C. from the University O.T.C. 15 Aug. 1914; left for France in Dec. having been attd. to the 2nd Battn. (1st Division), which formed part of the 2nd Brigade, and was killed in action near Rue du Bois, during the advance on Aubers Ridge, 9 May, 1915; _unm._ His Commanding Officer wrote: “Hodges was one of my best subalterns, and is a very great loss to me. Besides being a first-rate officer, he was a charming boy and deservedly popular with his brother officers.” Lieut. Hodges excelled at all games, and represented both his school and his college at cricket, football, and hockey, and at Epsom was Captain of his hockey team.

=HODGES, HENRY BURDEN=, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, yr. _s._ of John Frederick William Hodges, of Glenravel House, Glenravel, co. Antrim, J.P., by his wife, Mary, dau. of the late Henry Burden, M.D., F.R.C.S. (Eng.), and gdson. of the late Professor John Frederick Hodges, M.D., Queen’s College, Belfast; _b._ Newtownreda, Belfast, 13 Nov. 1895; educ. Mostyn House, Cheshire; Sherborne Preparatory, and Sherborne School, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. 2nd Y.L.I., 23 Dec. 1914; went to the Front, 6 March, 1915, and after five weeks in the trenches was killed in action at Hill 60, 18 April following. He fell, as his Col. wrote: “Gallantly leading his men in a charge against the Germans.” The regt. lost six officers killed and seven wounded that night, and as they were forced to retire before they had time to bring in the dead and wounded and Hill 60 fell to the Germans shortly afterwards, his body was not recovered. He was a keen golfer and footballer, and had won several medals for swimming and life-saving. He also won the light-weight championship at the Public Schools Boxing Competition at Aldershot in April, 1914. His elder brother, Capt. J. F. Hodges, 2nd Battn. Royal Irish Fusiliers, was wounded at St. Eloi, and was mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 22 June, 1915] and awarded the Military Cross, 24 June, 1915.

=HODGES, HENRY THOMAS=, Petty Officer, 1st Class, 183316, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=HODGES, WILLIAM SYDNEY=, Corpl., R.M.L.I. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 916), H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=HODGKINSON, JOHN FRANCIS=, Capt., 3rd (Prince of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, only _s._ of John Grundy Hodgkinson, of Rose Hill Farm, Baslow, co. Derby, Farmer, by his wife, Elizabeth Catherine, dau. of Francis Walker, of Sheffield; _b._ 25 July, 1879; educ. Mount St. Mary’s College, Chesterfield, co. Derby; enlisted in the Bakewell Coy. of the old 2nd V. Battn. Sherwood Foresters, 21 March, 1901, was gazetted 2nd Lieut. 26 March, 1902, and Capt. of D Coy. of the same regt. in May, 1905. With a view to getting into the Regular Army he obtained his transfer to the 4th Battn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 11 Oct. 1906, and on 25 May, 1910, was gazetted Capt. to the 3rd Dragoon Guards. He served with his regt. in Cairo for two years, and on the outbreak of the European War returned with it to England, whence after a month spent on Salisbury Plain he proceeded to the Front at the end of Oct. A few days later he was severely wounded in the head by a bullet whilst in charge of the regimental machine guns at Zillebeke. He was removed to Boulogne, where he died in hospital 10 Nov. 1914, and was buried in Boulogne Cemetery; _unm._ Capt. Hodgkinson was a keen fisherman, a good shot, a good bat at cricket, and an excellent polo player. He was a man of no small parts, and amongst the list of his varied accomplishments had an excellent knowledge of French, Spanish and Russian; added to which he possessed a working knowledge of the Caffre and Hindustani languages. While at the Infantry School of Instruction, Dublin, 1907, he passed first on the list and was granted a special certificate.

=HODGKINSON, SAMUEL CHARLES LINDSEY=, Lieut., Royal Australian Navy, H.M.A.S. Australia, 3rd _s._ of the late Edmund Hodgkinson, of Baslow, J.P., by his wife, Elizabeth Millicent, dau. of the late Thomas Heathcote, of Eyam, co. Derby; _b._ Baslow, co. Derby, 9 Oct. 1886; educ. Lady Manners Grammar School, Bakewell, Derbyshire, and on leaving school was apprenticed to the Merchant Service, and made several voyages to South America and Australia, obtaining his master mariner’s certificate, 29 July, 1910. On 25 Aug. 1905, he entered the Royal Naval Reserve as Midshipman, and served in H.M. ships Psyche, Scylla, and Irresistible, and when the Australian Navy was formed was appointed Lieut. 31 May, 1912. He served for some time in H.M.A. ships Protector, Pioneer, and Yarra, and for about 12 months acted as assistant navigation officer at Garden Island, Sydney (H.M.A.S. Penguin). He was appointed to H.M.A.S. Australia, flagship of the Australian squadron, on 1 April, 1914, with seniority, 1 Dec. 1912, and took part in the capture and occupation of the German Islands in the Pacific, by the Australian and New Zealand forces, and died at the Royal Naval Hospital, South Queensferry, 1 Aug. 1915, after undergoing a second operation rendered necessary by internal injuries, sustained while at gun practice in Jan.; _unm._

=HODGSON, FRANCIS FAITH=, Capt., 84th Punjabis, yst. _s._ of Henry Hill Hodgson, of Escote, Shortlands, Kent, J.P., formerly of Brathay House, Anerley, S.E.; _b._ Brathay House, Anerley, 14 Oct. 1880; educ. Arlington House (Mr. Burmann Prep. School), and Tonbridge, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; gazetted 2nd Lieut. unattd. Indian Army, 28 July, 1900; and was attd. to the Cheshires for his first year and joined the 27th Madras Infantry (reconstituted in 1902 as the 84th Punjabis), 6 Oct. 1901. He became Double Company Officer, 16 May, 1902; was promoted Lieut., 28 Oct. 1902, and Capt., 28 July, 1909; served in the operations in the Mohmund Country, N.W. Frontier, India, 1908, including the engagement at Kargha, and received the medal with clasp. On the outbreak of war, he left for France with the Indian Expeditionary Force, under Lt.-Gen. Sir James Willcocks, 1 Nov. 1914; being attd. to the Headquarters staff of the Bareilly Brigade, in the Meerut Division as Brigade machine-gun officer, and died in the Field Ambulance at Vielle Chapelle, 17 May, 1915, of wounds received at Festubert the previous day. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatches of 31 May [London Gazette, 23 June], 1915. Capt. Hodgson passed the Staff College with honours, 1914. He _m._ at Rawal Pindi, 5 March, 1914, Katherine Anna, dau. of Frederick Rowlandson, of Madras [and a descendant in the fifth degree of Elizabeth Fry], and had a dau., Katherine, _b._ 13 March, 1915.

=HODGSON, FREDERICK=, Chief E.R.A., 1st Class (Pensioner, 16328), 141300, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=HODGSON, GEOFFREY MITCHELL=, Private, No. A. 10993, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, _s._ of the Rev. John Henry Hodgson, Vicar of Swanmore, Bishop’s Waltham, Hants, by his wife, Frances Helena, dau. of Capt. Clayton Mitchell, R.N.; _b._ St. Swithun’s Rectory, Winchester, 10 June, 1892; educ. Downsend, Ashtead; and Haileybury College; went to Canada in Nov. 1910, and settled at Montreal, as a Bank Clerk; volunteered after the outbreak of war and joined Princess Patricia’s L.I. in Oct. 1914; came over with the 2nd Contingent, 8 June, 1915; went to France, 16 July, 1915, and was killed in action at Frise, 14 Oct. 1915; _unm._

=HODGSON, GEORGE GRAHAM=, Lieut., 2nd Battn. (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) Royal Berkshire Regt., elder _s._ of George Graham Hodgson, of Curfew House, Chertsey, co. Surrey, M.D., by his wife, Josephine, dau. of Joseph Iredale, of Carlisle; _b._ Devonshire House, Bootle, near Liverpool, 20 March, 1889; educ. Mulgrave Castle School (Rev. the Marquis of Normanby), Whitby, Rugby School and the Army House, Wiesbaden, and received his first commission in the 7th (Special Reserve) Battn. of the Royal Fusiliers. Passing out third on the list, he was, on 7 Dec. 1910, gazetted to the 2nd Berkshires, then stationed at Meerut. He served in India for four years, and was promoted Lieut. 10 Sept. 1913. After the outbreak of war he left India with his battn. in Sept. 1914, reaching England, 22 Oct. 1914, and after a few hours’ leave with his parents, went to the Western Front on 6 Nov. Subsequently he was attacked with pneumonia, necessitating his return to England, but was able to rejoin his regt. in the early part of April. He was for a time at the Base, near Havre, and on reaching the firing line found the Berkshires guarding the same trenches they had under their charge when he was invalided home. There was, however, a sad change in the personnel. Of the officers but two remained of those with whom he had served in India. He was killed in action at Fromelles, near Festubert ridges, on 9 May, 1915. Ordered to take a strongly fortified German trench, situated scarcely a couple of hundred yards away, he moved forward at the head of his company. When something like half the distance had been traversed he was hit in the hip or groin. The wound was bandaged by a Private, and he was urged to make his way to the rear. This advice he declined. His orders were to take the trench. On getting over the parapet they were met by a murderous fire from shrapnel and machine guns. They struggled on and arrived at a disused trench about 30 yards from the German position. Here Lieut. Graham Hodgson rallied the remnant of his men, together with some of the Rifle Brigade, and led them in the final attack on the enemy trench, in which his body was ultimately found. The trench was captured, but had to be evacuated later in the day, and his body was never recovered. Confirmation of his death was received from a German officer, who on 24 Nov. 1915, returned a photograph on which an address had been written in Lieut. G. Graham Hodgson’s handwriting (in English and German), saying: “In the event of my death will the finder kindly send the enclosed to the address given.” The German officer wrote: “It was found on the body of an English officer. Perhaps it will be of value to the person to whom it belongs.” Officially returned as “Missing, believed killed,” his commanding officer wrote: “I am afraid there is no doubt now that your son was killed in the fight of 9 May. The only definite information I have is that he was hit in the hip or groin while leading his men against the German trenches. A private soldier bandaged him up with a field dressing, and your son said he could manage. Nothing more has been seen of him since, and from all accounts the rifle and machine gun fire was so intense that anyone moving must have been hit several times. Since the action it has only been possible to get in those who fell quite close to our original breastwork, as no ground was held in front of that after the day itself. I am sorry to say we have several similar cases, and though everything has been done to trace the officers we can get no further. To the best of my belief two or three were actually killed in the German trench, which was temporarily taken. I am so very sorry that all this uncertainty exists. For some time it was hoped that some of our officers had been taken back during the confusion, but no trace of them can now be found in the field ambulances and clearing hospitals. Your son used to be in my company when we first came out, and I know how much we shall all miss him.” Out of 24 officers of the Berkshires who went into action that day, only four came out. Lieut. Graham Hodgson was an expert German linguist and scholar. He was _unm._ A memorial tablet, erected to his memory in Chertsey Parish Church, was unveiled by Col. Sir Lorenzo Dundas, K.C.B., on 19 Dec. 1915. His yr. brother, Harold Kingston Graham Hodgson, served as a Motor Cyclist Despatch Rider in the early days of the war until wounded by a shell explosion, and is now a Lieut. in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

=HODGSON, PHILIP ORMISTON=, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. East Lancashire Regt., 4th _s._ of the late Lieut. Thomas Tarleton Hodgson, R.N., and only _s._ by his 2nd wife, Georgina Julia Helen (11, Barne Park, Teignmouth, South Devon), 4th dau. of the late James Ormiston McWilliam, M.D., C.B., R.N., F.R.C.P., F.R.S., Surgeon R.N., Medical Inspector of H.M. Customs, and gdson. of the late Rev. William Hodgson, D.D., Master of Peterhouse College, Cambridge; _b._ London, 8 March, 1887; educ. Stubbington and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; volunteered and applied for a commission on the outbreak of war, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the East Lancashires, 15 Aug. 1914. He joined the 3rd Battn. at Plymouth, 8 Oct. following; went to the Front, 19 Feb., and was transferred there to the 2nd Battn. and died in No. 25 Field Ambulance, 13 March, 1915, from wounds received in action at Neuve Chapelle, 12 March, while gallantly leading a charge against a farmhouse held by the enemy with machine-guns. He was buried in Estaires Cemetery, France; _unm._

=HODGSON, ROBERT=, Private, No. 10571, 1st Battn. The Royal Scots, 2nd _s._ of the late Edward Hodgson, by his wife, Mary; _b._ Auckland Park, co. Durham, 22 Dec. 1893; enlisted, 14 Dec. 1909; went to France, 29 Dec. 1914, and died, 8 Feb. 1915, of wounds received in action at Doorstraat; _unm._

=HODSDON, HARRY=, Sergt., No. 19, 8th Battn. (Post Office Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Henry Hodsdon, of 33, Concannon Road, Brixton; _b._ Islington, 22 March, 1885; educ. Mathias Road Board School; joined the Post Office Rifles in 1903; became Sergt., volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, and was killed at the Battle of Festubert, 21–26 May, 1915, in which his Battn. greatly distinguished itself; _unm._

=HODSOLL, GEORGE BERTRAM POLLOCK=, Capt., 3rd Battn. (Special Reserve), the Suffolk Regt., 2nd _s._ of Charles Maxfield Hodsoll, of Farm House, Capel, Surrey, formerly of Loose Court, Kent [descended from the old Kent family of Hodsoll]; by his wife, Georgiana Mary, elder dau. of George Kennet Pollock, granddau. of Sir David Pollock, Chief Justice of Bombay, and grandniece of Field-Marshal Sir George Pollock, of Khyber Pass celebrity, _b._ Loose Court, co. Kent, 18 June, 1875; educ. Maidstone School and University College, Oxford; obtained a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the Cambridgeshire Militia, then the 4th Battn. Suffolk Regt., Dec. 1902, and subsequently transferred to the 3rd Battn. Special Reserve, Suffolk Regt., and obtained his company 5 Aug. 1914; went to France, 23 Oct. following, and was there attd. to the 1st Cheshires, and was killed in action at the First Battle of Ypres, 7 Nov. 1914, while gallantly leading his men in a counter-attack. The Adjutant, Capt. L. Frost, wrote: “On 7 Nov. about three o’clock in the afternoon, the regt. on our left fell back and the Germans came through their trenches, so Capt. Hodsoll, Mr. Anderson and myself, with the supports of our regt. made a counter-attack. Your husband had not gone more than 100 yards when he, poor fellow, was killed, he died instantaneously and could not have suffered any pain at all. He died giving his life for his country at a very critical moment, if this counter-attack had failed, it would have meant the whole line coming back. He died a glorious and magnificent death. Capt. Pollock Hodsoll was buried the same evening on the ground where he died, in a wood near a chateau about 3½ miles east of Ypres. A wooden cross with his name was placed on the grave.” Capt. Pollock Hodsoll was well known to all followers of Association Football, having played many years for both the Casuals and Corinthians, touring with these teams both on the Continent and in South Africa, and captained the Army team on several occasions. He was much interested in political matters, and frequently spoke in public on this subject, and in support of the Unionist cause, and in favour of National Military Service. He _m._ at Edinburgh, 1 June, 1914, Olive Margaret, eldest dau. of the Rev. George Milne Rae, of Edinburgh, D.D.; _s.p._

=HODSON, DANIEL=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 10644), 210650, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.