: George was born in Horsley in 1880, the son of George Hanks and Hannah (nee Cleaveley). His siblings were: Daniel (1869), Jane (1871), Annie (1874), Elizabeth (1876) and Maud (1886).
In the 1881 census the family were living in Downend, Horsley, and George's father was a farmer of six acres. By 1891 they had moved to Forest Green. In the 1901 census, George, then aged 20 was a wood sawyer's assistant, and his father was now a general haulier. George married Alice Emily Rudge in 1903 and their first child, William Arthur, was born later that same year although sadly dying two months later. Their other children were: Nellie (1905), Annie (1906), Christabel (1908), Gladys (1910), Millicent (1912) and Alfred (1914)
George's service records have not survived, so we do not know when he enlisted, but the 10th Glosters were formed in September 1914 as part of the Third New Army. They were mobilised for war on 8th August 1915 and sent to France.
: George was killed in action on 25th September 1915, probably during the Battle of Loos, the largest British offensive to date and part of another Franco-British attempt to destroy the stalemate of trench warfare and break through the German lines. This battle also saw the first British use of poison gas. He was buried in the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, France and is also remembered on the Horsley War Memorial and the Woodchester Wayside Cross.
