Hancock began working as a coal miner in Staffordshire at age 14,[1] and became active in the North Staffordshire Miners' Association, serving as its financial secretary from 1914.[2] This role brought him greater prominence in the movement, and in 1926 and 1927 he served on the executive of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain.[3] In the early 1930s, Samuel Finney, the general secretary of the North Staffordshire Miners, retired, and Hancock won the election to succeed him. He was also elected to succeed Finney as president of the Midland Miners' Federation, to which the North Staffordshire Miners were affiliated.[2] He frequently attended the Trades Union Congress, and in 1937 was its delegate to the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada.[4]
Hancock retired in 1941.[5] In his spare time, he served as a Methodist lay preacher.[2]