Yorkshire Chess History

 

Contents:

Dr. George Fowler Bodington

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Sheffield Sub-Site

 

Born:

14/09/1828, Erdington, Birmingham

Baptised:

Died:

08/05/1902, Paris

Buried:

Sutton Coldfield

 

Non-Chess Life

 

He was born 14/09/1828, at Erdington in Birmingham, five miles from the city centre, son of George Bodington, surgeon of Sutton Coldfield.

 

He went to school at Queen’s College, Birmingham, was admitted as a pensioner at Caius College, Cambridge, on 27/10/1847, matriculating at Michaelmas 1847, and studying medicine.  His time at Cambridge overlapped with that of Skipworth.  He became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1849 and going on to become a Fellow (FRCS) in 1862.  Other qualifications etc were LSA (whatever that is) 1853, M.D. (Giessen) 1868, M.D. (Durham) 1885.

 

He was for a while House Surgeon at Queen’s Hospital, Birmingham, then became a ship’s surgeon, visiting Natal and India.  He practised in back settlements of Pietermaritzburg, where his fees were paid in elephants’ tusks.  After returning to England he went into medical practice in Kenilworth, and then moved to Middlesborough-on-Tees to take up a position as surgeon to the North Riding Infirmary.  Venn says the move to Middlesborough was in 1866, but his participation at Redcar in 1865 with a “Saltburn” attribution suggests that he moved first to Saltburn, no later than 1865, and then to Middlesborough in 1866.  His stay in the Middlesborough area cannot have been long since the story presented by Venn has him taking over management of his father’s private asylum, Driffold House, in Sutton Coldfield, seemingly in 1867.  Kelly’s Warwickshire directory of 1872 placed him there.  Later he moved to work at a private asylum at Ashwood House, Kingswinford, Staffs., staying there up to 1884.  Kelly’s Staffordshire directory of 1876 placed him there.  He then emigrated to British Columbia, Canada, becoming Medical Superintendent of the Provincial Asylum in New Westminster, British Columbia, in 1895 (age 67),  Henderson’s British Columbia Gazetteer and Directory for 1900-01 there, but he resigned that post in 1901.  [Venn]

 

Death

 

He died in Paris on 08/05/1902, and was repatriated for burial at Sutton Coldfield.

 

Chess

 

He played in the tournament at the Redcar chess meeting of 1865, finishing 7th out of 9, scoring 1 out of 7 (and one seemingly unplayed).  With Dr. James Heaton Bennett he was joint secretary for the Redcar chess meeting of 1866, and competed in the Class II tournament.

 

 

Created

07/01/2013

Copyright © 2013 Stephen John Mann

Census information is copyright of The National Archive, see UK Census Information

Last Updated

07/01/2013