William John Hocking

=William John Hocking, CVO, CBE=

Born Senen Cove, Cornwall into a Congregational church family in 1864.

Royal Mint

W. J. Hocking went to London and secured a clerical post at the Royal Mint. In 1908 Hocking travelled to Melbourne Australia on supervise mint business there. His diary of this journey is in the possession of his grandson. In 1917 he was the Assistant Superintendent of the Operative Department. In due course he became the Superintendent of the Royal Mint,Tower Bridge, London. Upon retirement he and his family moved down to Danbury, Essex, where he lived until his death. His work at the Mint - especially during the war years (1914-1918) and the period of depression in the 1920s required great skill in securing the exact alloy balance in the manufacture of coins - resulted in him receiving the honours CBE and on retirement the CVO. A discussion of the manufacture of coins and medals to the Mint's specification is given on Spinks website [http://www.spink.com/news/newsletters/2003/200307medal_news.asp] His research into the history of British coins made him one of the foremost numismatists in his day as well as at the present. He was the librarian and curator of the Mint's collection of British coins. His "Catalogue of The Coins, Tokens ... Museum Of The Royal Mint" (2 vols, 1906-10) are referred to frequently at the Royal MInt library in Llantrisant, Wales. His work, "Simon's Dies In The Royal Mint Museum", (1909) is also of importance. The proceedings of the Royal Numismatic Society in 1915 give Hocking's research on the collection of coining instruments in the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh see [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_049/49_308_332.pdf Article dated May 10 1915]

Private Life

He married twice following the death of his first wife.

Stanley Hocking was his firstborn son. His youngest son Leslie (was in the R.A.M.C.) died on the Somme 1914-1918.

He joined the Plymouth Brethren in the 1880s and soon came to the attention of William Kelly and began contribution to the oral and written ministry of the Brethren. In 1920 he commenced editing "The Bible Monthly" magazine. Under the pseudonym of "Yod", he wrote a number of pamphlets for young Christians. He also wrote some expository books on the Bible. His book "The Son of His Love" was a defence of Christ's Eternal Sonship. He also worked on the revision of the Little Flock hymn book which was produced in 1928 and wrote a number of hymns currently in print in ‘Spiritual Songs (1978)’.

He died in Danbury and was buried at Nunhead Cemetery with his first wife. The funeral took place at 12.15 p.m. Weds 15th April 1953.

References

* "Spiritual Songsters" by Frank Wallace
* "Who’s Who" 1953.
* JRULM, CBA
* Private collection of Rev. John Hocking.
* Archaeology Data Service [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk]
* Archive of E Cross, Fountain House, London SE18
* http://www.royalmint.com/Corporate/AboutUs/History/Llantrisant.aspx