Chess Playing Butchers

Richard James · Post by **Richard James** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:40 pm

I note that John Saunders doesn't provide first names for CG Butcher, who played in the 1936 British Championship.

There were several chess playing Butchers in the Birmingham and Wolverhampton areas.

F Butcher played in a Birmingham tournament in 1926 where Alekhine and Znosko-Borovsky took on four local players.

The aforementioned CG Butcher was prominent in Birmingham chess circles in the 1930s.

Alf J Butcher was champion of Wolverhampton several times before WW2 and played long enough to defeat the young Tony Miles.

In 1900 twin sons, Alfred Joseph and George Cecil were born to Francis and Annie Butcher. Francis was a silversmith and goldsmith living in King's Norton, Worcestershire, now a suburb of Birmingham.

By 1911 Alfred and Cecil (as he was by now known) were boarding with a private schoolmaster, Thomas Rylands Parton, and his family. The Partons had two sons, the older of whom, Vernon, became famous as the inventor of Alice Chess and many other variants. To the best of my knowledge they were not related to Dolly.

So it seems a reasonable guess that some or all of the chess playing Butchers were from this family. But does anyone know for certain?

Richard James · Post by **Richard James** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 6:54 pm

Alfred Joseph Butcher born 1900 died Wolverhampton 1981

Cecil George Butcher born 1900 (as George Cecil Butcher, it seems) died Daventry 1990.

It seems like a reasonable assumption that these were the twin sons of Francis Butcher, and that the family were all chess players, but it would be good to be certain.

John Saunders · Post by **John Saunders** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 9:58 pm

Thanks, Richard. Bernard Cafferty played Alfred J Butcher (as I recorded his name for the Britbase file - I will now change it).

JonManley · Post by **JonManley** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 11:18 pm

Frederick Dewhurst Yates.

Matt Mackenzie · Post by **Matt Mackenzie** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 12:05 am

Except it now seems fairly well established that wasn't his actual name

John Clarke · Post by **John Clarke** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:28 am

In a later generation there was a Butcher playing in one of the Sunday Times finals - IIRC it was 1963, his initials were R J, and he played for the Liverpool Institute. Just thought I'd mention it ....

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