George's Story.
EARLY LIFE
George Fritz Hingston was born in the United States of America in 1893, the son of Florence Alice (née Kohler) and George Henry Hingston. George's father died in Kentucky in 1898 and he and his mother returned from America to London, where in 1905 she married Arthur James Tadman, a widowed bank clerk.
Arthur Tadman was the brother of Edgar Tadman, a teacher and later headmaster of the Macclesfield Modern School between 1905 and 1909. It appears that George Hingston was sent to his uncle in Macclesfield to receive his education at that school.
In 1911, eighteen-year-old George was living with his mother and stepfather at 23 Inchmery Road, Catford, London - a comfortable semi-detached home with eight rooms. Like his stepfather, George was employed as a bank clerk; no doubt Arthur had guided his stepson into the employ of the Westminster Bank, Ltd.
Florence and Arthur Tadman later lived at "Merrymount," West Hall Rd, Warlingham, Surrey.
WW1 SERVICE
George enlisted in September 1914 and was drafted to France almost a year later on 31 August 1915. At the time of his death he held the rank of Acting Sergeant.
COMMEMORATION
Sgt George Hingston has no known grave and he is named on Pier and Face 7 C of the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission holds casualty details for Sgt George Hingston.
In Macclesfield, Sgt George Hingston is commemorated on the Macclesfield Grammar School war memorial. Elsewhere, he is commemorated on the war memorial at Warlingham, Surrey.
Research by Rosie Rowley, Macclesfield.