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Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:07 pm
by Richard James
Solomon and Harry Bogdanow appear to have been brothers.
In the 1911 census they're living in Hackney with their parents Abraham (a cabinet maker from Russian Poland) and Rose (a tobacconist/shopkeeper), and their younger brother Karl. Their other five siblings have all died. Solomon is a merchant's clerk working for a desiccated coconut manufacturer(!). Harry is a student. Karl is "assisting in the business". They must have changed their name to Bogdanor later. Karl (full name Karlman Bogdanow) appears not to have changed his name, dying in Hove in 1979.
I'd be amazed if this wasn't your man.
(I see Vernon taught Toby Young as well as David Cameron. He has a lot to answer for.)
AJ Spencer - not a lot to go on as we're talking about a common surname. He was active in county matches in the early 1920s and there's also a reference to a Thornton Heath player called AJ Spencer who may or may not be the same chap.
Tabitha Dorcas Johnson is a mystery - I can find no other mention of her at all in censuses or BMD records.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:12 pm
by Christopher Kreuzer
Someone should suggest Vernon go on "
Who Do You Think You Are?" I don't watch all of those programmes, though I do enjoy them. Never seen a chess connection come up yet in any ancestry TV programmes.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:23 pm
by Gerard Killoran
I'm pretty certain that dodgy pharmacist Harris 'Harry' Bogdanor is our man. He was a member of the Toynbee Hall Chess Club where in the Annual report of the Universities' Settlement in East London. (Toynbee Hall.) Page 42 we read:
'The Continuous Handicap Tournament (twenty entries) was won by L. Savage. H. Bogdanor gained Second Prize, and I. Pomerantz third prize.'
Bogdanor was the Treasure and Secretary of the club.
Strangely however...
The London Gazette, 24 January 1930 Issue 33573, Page 542 reads
NOTICE is hereby given that HARRY BOGDANOR, of 56, Mile End-road, in the county of London, Chemist and Optician, has, by deed poll dated the 10th day of January, 1930 and duly enrolled in the Supreme Court of Judicature, renounced the names of Harris Boogdaner and adopted the name of Harry Bogdanor.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:29 pm
by Christopher Kreuzer
Brilliant. Change your name by deed poll and get the name wrong there as well... "Boogdaner"??
To be fair, Chemist & Druggist report that spelling as well.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:37 pm
by Gerard Killoran
To be accurate
The University of London Calendars of 1915-16 and 1920-21, and the Pharmaceutical journal. v.48 1919 have him as Harry Bogdanor, as do several court appearances.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:51 pm
by Gerard Killoran
A. J. Spencer according to...
The Year-book of Chess 1910 Page 287
and
The Chess Amateur 1913 Volume 7 - Page 4
...lived at 83, Gartmoor Gardens, Wimbledon, so should be listed there in the 1911 census.
Page 212 of the British chess magazine, vol. 26 (1906), tells us that Mr. Kirk, secretary of the Civil Service chess league lived at 16, Gartmoor Gardens. Coincidence?
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:20 pm
by Richard James
Found him - although Gartmoor Gardens comes under Wandsworth, not Wimbledon.
He's Arthur John Spencer, aged 32, an assistant at the Science Museum in South Kensington, married with three children and a servant.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 9:43 pm
by John Saunders
Remarkable - I go away for a few hours and come back to find that, not only have those two difficult names been discovered and corroborated, but an old family skeleton worthy of embarrassing an Oxford professor has been dug up. Rather more than I bargained for...
Many thanks!
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 12:47 pm
by Richard James
From the 1914 Major Open:
G Barron was George Barron of Hull (1877-1948) who was active between the start of the 20th century and the outbreak of WW2. In the 1930s we find him playing on board 2 for Hull behind Dr Jacob Bronowski. Unfortunately the link on the Yorkshire Chess History site takes you to a blank page.
J MacAlister. A Londoner by residence despite his name, a member of the Metropolitan Chess Club (on the committee in 1915) and played for Middlesex but seemed to prefer congresses. Usually no middle initial given but one reference to JA MacAlister which may well be a mistake. The J MacAlisters in London at the time were all John so that's probably his first name. My best guess is that he's John MacAlister (c.1876-1946), born in Renfrewshire, Scotland, a shorthand writer living in North London but working in the legal profession in Central London.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 3:14 pm
by John Saunders
Great stuff, Richard.
I have just received three more games for the 1914 British Championship from Andy Ansel. So I have updated the Britbase file for 1914 British Championship as follows:
1. Barron, G becomes Barron, George
2. MacAlister, J becomes MacAlister, John
3. Game Louis-Wilkes (Rd 1) added
4. Game Sparkes-Scott (Rd 1) added
5. Game Sparkes-Yates (Rd 10) added
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 7:16 pm
by Richard James
Mrs SC Kershaw, was, I believe, Selina Charity Davie (1854-1936), who married firstly Stephen Hussey and secondly Joseph Kershaw.
Born in Bridport, Dorset, later moved to London and then to Sussex. Played under the name of Mrs Hussey until her second marriage in 1902.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:08 pm
by John Saunders
More excellent detective work, Richard: I've amended the relevant game in the 1914 file, and added the details you have found as a footnote.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 12:37 pm
by Kevin Thurlow
Spencer was first Secretary of the Civil Service Chess Association in 1922, left in 1927 as he was now doing a similar job for the CS Sports Society (which became CS Sports Council). He played for Education, below CEC Tattersall, ET Jesty, F Dark and BHN Stronach.
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:34 pm
by Tim Harding
Here is another game from the Major Open, found in Mrs Rowland's column for the Cork Weekly News, 24 October 1914.
White goes for a berserk attack, giving away all his pieces in a vain attempt to get at the black king,
Re: British Championship Chester 1914
Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2021 6:35 pm
by Gerard Killoran
Here Maidenhead's finest, William Owen Cecil Stuchbery disposes of not one, but two professors.