George William Hocking
- Born: 22 Jun 1895, Harrietville, Victoria, Australia
- Marriage (1): Lucy Farmer Julia Richards on 21 Apr 1924 in Eldorado, Victoria, Australia
- Died: 8 Feb 1972, Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia at age 76
- Buried: 10 Feb 1972, Eldorado Cemetery, Eldorado, Victoria, Australia
 General Notes:
George played in the Harrietville football team in 1914. In 1931 he and Julia were living in Harrietville where, according to the electoral rolls, George was working as a labourer and Lucy attended to home duties. By 1937 he was still working as a labourer but by now they were living in Eldorado, Victoria, another gold-mining town, about 60 miles to the north-west of Harrietville, where they would spend the rest of their lives.
The onset of WW2, and the threat posed to Australia when Japan entered the War, saw George enlist in the Australian Military Forces at Wangaratta on 27 April 1942 when he was almost 47 years of age. He was a married labourer working as a digman on a dredge at Eldorado and he recorded his religion as Methodist. He was given the service number V390727. His enlistment form shows that he was 5 feet 7 ¼ inches tall and weighed 173 lbs. He'd had no serious diseases and was in general good health. George was assigned to the 22nd Batallion, Volunteer Defence Corps which had its HQ in Benalla. The VDC had been formed in 1940 to carry out home defence duties, mostly using World War I veterans. However, George does not appear to have served in the earlier war.
George carried out all of his service in Benalla and was discharged from the Army on 10 October 1945 after the conclusion of the war.
The electoral rolls indicate that by 1949 he had resumed working as a labourer in Eldorado. His son Keith was working in the same occupation. George continued to work as a labourer in Eldorado until at least 1968. His death certificate records that he was a miner when he died in 1972 and his occupation at the time of his enlistment suggests that he worked in the mines for all his life.
Noted events in his life were:
• He worked as a Miner at the time of his death on 8 Feb 1972 in Eldorado, Victoria, Australia.
• He resided at the time of his death on 8 Feb 1972 in Eldorado, Victoria, Australia.
George married Lucy Farmer Julia Richards, daughter of Nicholas Richards and Alice Emily Trimble, on 21 Apr 1924 in Eldorado, Victoria, Australia. (Lucy Farmer Julia Richards was born in 1902 and died on 19 Jan 1976 in Beechworth, Victoria, Australia.)
|
