Name
Stephen Lotan Hocken
1892
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
03/09/1916
24
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Second Lieutenant
King's Royal Rifle Corps
10th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Pier and Face 13 A and 13 B.
France
Headstone Inscription
N/A
UK & Other Memorials
Berkhamsted Town Memorial St Peter's Church Memorial, Berkhamsted Berkhamsted Collegiate School, Berkhamsted
Pre War
Stephen Lotan Hocken was born in Stroud Green, London in 1892 the son of William and Bertha Hocken (nee Harry) and was one of three children.
His father, a commercial traveller, died in 1899 (leaving an estate of £3596) and on the 1901 Census he was living with his widowed mother, brother Garth and sister Barbara at 'Shirley', Grange Road, Bishops Stortford, Herts. His mother was 'living on her own means'.
By 1911 the family had moved to 'Shirley', Cross Oak Road, Berkhamsted and Stephen was working as a solicitor's articled clerk. He was listed in 1912 as articled to R P Hart, Solicitor and living at 23 Surrey Street, London WC. He qualified as a solicitor in 1914 and left England for Bombay on the P & O ship Arabia on 10 October 1914.
Wartime Service
Stephen later returned from India and served as 2nd Lieutenant, 10th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps.
He was killed in action on 3 September 1916 aged 24, during the attack and capture of Guillemont, part of the Battle of the Somme. He has no known grave and his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France. He is one of 39 men from the 10th Battalion named on the Memorial who died that day.
Additional Information
His mother received a war gratuity of £5 and pay owing of £36 7s 6d.
His brother Garth Locken also served with the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and Army Labour Corps as 2nd Lieutenant. He survived the war and later applied for the medals of his dead brother.
Some records give date of death as 4th September.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Jonty Wild
