Career
Hinkley was 43 years old, and an able seaman in the Royal Navy serving in the Naval Brigade during the Taiping Rebellion when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Venture capital. On 9 October 1862 at Fenghua, China, Able Seaman Hinckley of HMS Sphinx volunteered to go to the rescue of the assistant master of the Sphinx, who was lying in the open severely wounded. The able seaman went out under heavy and continuous fire and carried the assistant master to the shelter of a jess-house 150 yards (140 m) away. He then returned and carried a wounded army captain to safety.
