George Hacking Wood – Royal Engineers

Sapper George Hacking Wood – Royal Engineers

Early Life

George Wood and Susannah Hacking marriage certificate Parish Church of Tockholes, Lancashire

Born in 1883 at Darwen, Lancashire, George Hacking Wood was the son of George Wood and Susannah Hacking, who married that same year at the Parish Church of Tockholes, Lancashire. His early life reflects the movement of skilled masonry families across northern and mid‑Wales communities during the late Victorian period.

Family Life

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the Wood family were living at 16 Ganegddlin, Llansantffraid Cwmdeuddwr, Radnorshire, where Devon‑born George Wood, aged 50, worked as a Foreman Mason, and his Lancashire‑born wife Susannah, aged 44, managed the household. Their children present were George H. (18) and Richard (12), both employed as Mason Labourers, along with James (11), Annie (9), and John (4). The household also included nephews George Wood (15) and Willie Howe (14), both Mason Labourers, and a niece, Manda Howe (13), creating a busy, multi‑generational home shaped by the shared trade of masonry.

Marriage

In 1909, George married Edith Mabel Beatrup at Blackburn, Lancashire, reconnecting the family to its Lancashire roots.

Move to Loughor

1911 Census

The 1911 Census records George and Edith living at Dock Street, Loughor. George, aged 28, was employed as a Mason, while Edith, 27, was noted as Radnorshire‑born. Their only child at the time was Edith (1), forming a small household newly settled within the industrial communities of the Loughor estuary.

Military Service

George Hacking Wood served as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, a corps whose members undertook essential construction, engineering, and technical duties across the British Army’s wartime operations. His background as a mason would have made him particularly valuable within the regiment’s works and field companies.

George Hacking Wood 
Knigsbridge Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial

George died on 21 June 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War. He is buried at Kingsbridge Cemetery, where his grave stands among Swansea’s post‑war burials and remains a testament to his service, craftsmanship, and the life shaped by movement between counties, trades, and communities.