Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Cape Colony (Capt. S. Hancock, Rly. Pnr. Rgt.) extremely fine £250-300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals relating to the Boer War formed by two brothers.

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George Strangman Hancock was born in England, c. 1865, the youngest son of Thomas Strangman Hancock. A Mining Engineer by occupation, he had been educated in England and France. He travelled around during the early part of his career, gaining experience in Wales and Spain as well as in the United States of America where he spent three-and-a half years in California, Colorado and the Southern States. His last American appointment was as mining superintendent of the Appalachian Company in North Carolina from which he resigned in 1888.

Hancock, who had previously spent two years prospecting for gold north of the Limpopo and in the Zoutpansberg, Lydenberg and Barberton districts, returned to South Africa in 1888. His first appointment in the country was as manager of the Balkis Consolidated Company's Eersteling mine near Smitsdorp in the Zoutpansberg district of the Transvaal. By January 1889, however, he had moved to the Witwatersrand where he was managing the Black Reef Gold Mining Company Ltd. as well as the Oosthuizen Gold Mining Company Ltd. He subsequently also accepted responsibility for the Cornucopia Gold Mining Company Ltd. and the New Spes Bona Gold Mining Company Ltd. of which he became the general manager in 1892. Hancock spent nine months during 1893 and 1894 in Mashonaland, Manica and Matabeleland inspecting and reporting on mining property, including that of the Churchill Syndicate-Transvaal and Mashonaland Investment Company, Ltd. After his return to Johannesburg in 1894, he was appointed Manager of the Jumpers Deep Ltd. Jumpers Deep, Limited was one of the early deep level mines to be developed by Rand Mines, Limited. Jumpers Deep, Limited was registered in October 1894 and development work commenced at the beginning of 1895. At the end of that year, H.C. Perkins, general manager of Rand Mines, commended Hancock to the Board of Directors:

‘It gives me great pleasure to express my appreciation of the faithful, efficient, and energetic way in which Mr. Strangman Hancock, who has had entire charge of the Company's operations on the property, has fulfilled his duties as Manager.’
These sentiments seemed to have prevailed throughout the twelve years which Hancock remained at Jumpers Deep. He resigned on 19 September 1906, offering the following reason for his decision:
'I have reluctantly arrived at the conclusion that the constant strain of daily supervising operations in this very difficult mine - particularly underground - is more than I can continue to face with due regard to my health and professional future as a Mining Engineer.’

Hancock intended establishing himself as a consulting mining engineer in London. This is probably why he applied for membership of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in 1904, proposed by Hennen Jennings. In 1906, he acquired the patent rights to the Hancock-Templer Vertical and Incline Skip which he developed while at Jumpers Deep. Nothing seems to have come of his plans to practice in London and he settled near Cranbrook in Kent where he became a District Councillor, and joined the Cranbrook Board of Guardians in 1912. During the Great War, Hancock commanded the prisoner of war ship, S.S. Andania. He had served with the 2nd Railway Pioneer Regiment and the Rand Rifles during the South African War. Hancock died in England on 31 October 1921.

With an interesting pass, used aboard H.M.T. Canada, comprising a printed card ‘H.M.T. Canada’, this authorizes the bearer to pass, G. Strangman Hancock, Commandant Prisoners of War Ships’, the other side with ink inscription ‘Clerical Staff, H.M.T. Canada 1915’, in the centre of the card is fitted a brass ‘G.V.R.’ badge, this attached with string and a lead seal; together with copied photographs and a quantity of copied research relating to both his military and civil life.

The G. Strangman Hancock Collection of papers and memorabilia, mainly relating to his mining work, was donated to the Rand Mines Archives - a bound inventory of which is also included with the lot.