Donald Hankey

Born in Brighton in 1884, Donald William Alers Hankey was an English soldier, writer, and Christian missionary. He was educated at Rugby and briefly attended Oxford before finding his way into work that brought him closer to the lives of working people, including time with the Salvation Army and at the Bermondsey Mission in South London.

When the First World War began, he joined the British Army and later became an officer. Drawing on his own experience of military life, he wrote a series of essays that were published as A Student in Arms. The pieces stood out for their sympathy, honesty, and close attention to the character of volunteer soldiers, helping make the book widely admired during the war.

Hankey was killed on the Somme in October 1916, not yet 32 years old. Because he wrote from direct experience and without grandstanding, his work still feels immediate: thoughtful about duty and belief, but most memorable for the way it notices the dignity of ordinary men.