Full Names of 1950s Players (1956 BCF Grading List)

[Richard James]

I've been interested in identifying J Hobbs of Twickenham for some time.

I'm now sure he was born Aristides Hadjiyanni in 1912, changing his name to John Hobbs (his mother's maiden name) in 1934 or 1935. He played for Battersea in the 1930s, winning the Slater Kennington Cup (Division 2 of the Surrey Individual Championship) in 1936, served in the RAF during WW2, playing for their chess team, joined Ealing in 1946, later playing for (Richmond &) Twickenham.

[Gerard Killoran]

I've been puzzled by J. Levin (Metropolitan) as I've found nothing in the Britsh chess, or other records - which is strange for such a strong player. Could he be the American Jacob Levin?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lev ... ss_player)

It's possible he was based in London for a short time.

[Gerard Killoran]

Colin Hammersley

https://www.birminghamchess.org.uk/Memo ... ersley.pdf

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I've been puzzled by J. Levin (Metropolitan) as I've found nothing in the Britsh chess, or other records - which is strange for such a strong player. Could he be the American Jacob Levin?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lev ... ss_player)

It's possible he was based in London for a short time.

Hi Gerard. I've tried to find out more about a "J Levin" in Britain (London) for a while but without much success.

On ancestry there are some records of a Jacob Levin living at 123 Berekley Court, Marylebone, in the late 1950s and up to 1962. Also in the household is Irma E Levin, who I assume is his wife.

There is an interesting ship's passenger list for 11th - 17th October, 1961, in which Jacob and Irma E Levin travel from Southampton to New York. On this the nationality of both is given as British.

I guess it shouldn't be too difficult to find out about the US Jacob Levin and whether he was married to a woman called Irma E.

There is a death record for an Irma Eleanor Levin registered in Westminster in 1996. Her year of birh is 1913. A search on the government's probate search (probatesearch.service.gov.uk) gives her date of death as 26th October, 1996. It spells her middle name as "Eleonore". Unfortunately the probate itself is not available unless you want to pay, which to be honest doesn't seem worth it.

[Edit] I found Jacob and Irma in the 1939 register, where Jacob's occupation is given as "Lace Curtain & Ladies Under Wear Manufacturer" and his date of birth as 23rd September, 1894. There is a death record for him from 1973. So he's definitely not the US chess player (though of course he might be the British chess player!)

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I've been puzzled by J. Levin (Metropolitan) as I've found nothing in the Britsh chess, or other records - which is strange for such a strong player. Could he be the American Jacob Levin?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lev ... ss_player)

It's possible he was based in London for a short time.

There is a record of a J. Levin playing in a 1931 match between London and Philadelphia, but for the US side:

https://www.olimpbase.org/index.php?htt ... dlies.html

"1931 Insull Trophy Series: London-Philadelphia 3½-2½
(Sultan Khan ½ N.T.Whitaker; F.D.Yates ½ J.Levin; R.P.Michell 1 S.T.Sharp; V.Buerger ½ D.G.Weiner; W.Winter 1 B.F.Winkelman; E.G.Sergeant 0 S.Mlotkowski)"

This match was reported in BCM.

No idea what was going on in 1957. Does the grading list give any indication of how many games "J. Levin" would have played or in what matches they might have played?

In case it helps, other people listed as playing for Metropolitan in that list are:

J. M. Bee (4a) [already solved as John Matthias Bee]
A. Bernfield (4b) [already solved as Abram Bernfield]
J. A. Moore (4b) [still unknown]
B. E. Glaze (5a) [already solved as Bernard Edward Glaze]
S. G. Hill (5b) [still unknown]

Those with still unknown initials are:

J. Levin (Metropolitan)
A. Hirsch (Finchley)

E. Jesty (Athenaeum) [JS thinks possibly "Edmund Tom Jesty, b 1890"]

J. S. Parker (Wimbledon)
D. Hardin (Sale)
P. J. Harrison (Bolton & Nottingham University)
B. Howard (Blackpool)
H. C. Lewis (Civil Service)
I. P. Russell (Southgate)
R. G. White (Stock Exchange)
J. N. Baxter (Leeds University)
A. Bucys (Bradford)

H. W. Calvert (Ilford) [JS thinks: "Harold? William? Seemingly from N.Ireland originally, 1920s/1930s in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, 1940s/1950s in Ilford, Essex")

D. J. Collins (Harrow)
R. B. Copleston (Exeter)
H. C. Garner (Civil Service)
J. S. Giles (Altrincham)
J. Goldberg (Leeds)
D. Gowler (West Ham)
L. G. Green (Birmingham)

C. Hammersley (Birmingham) [Gerard has solved this one as "Colin Hammersley"]

S. G. Hill (Civil Service)
H. S. Hope (Croydon)
C. Jahn (Harrow)
H. P. James (Wimbledon)
T. Lee (Coventry)

N. Lewis (Birmingham; 5a) [JS thinks: "middle initial may be "I" and could be Neil I Lewis, Irish Glorney Cup player, 1954-56"]

J. A. Moore (Metropolitan)
P. W. Parkes (Wimbledon)
M. R. Porter (Ilford)
O. Pritchard (Altrincham)
W. Turner (Sussex)
W. S. Wallis (West London)
A. Weber (Clapham Common)
R. Beevers (Sheffield)
S. Dean (West Ham)
J. Espley (Stockport)
W. J. Gillies (Civil Service)
G. E. James (Leicestershire)
R. H. King (Civil Service)
W. E. Phipps (Birmingham)
J. E. Smith (Birmingham)
J. W. Smith (Wimbledon)
E. L. Taylor (Sale)
J. L. Warren (Warwickshire)
F. Whitham (Manchester)

Will be impressive if the percentage eventually identified ends up being quite high (am impressed by how many already identified from that list). Am going to pick one of the above now and have a go...

[Christopher Kreuzer]

J. N. Baxter of Leeds University may be the same as the Dr. J. N. Baxter of Hobart Tasmania who appears in a 1963 BCM item about the "Longest Move Problem" (item number 1214).

EDIT: From the November 1983 issue of EG (p.219 of Number 74, Volume V):

https://www.arves.org/arves/images/PDF/EG_PDF/eg74.pdf

"Obituaries Dr. J.N. Baxter, who worked in the Chemistry Department of the University of Tasmania, died xi.79. He won 1st Prize in an early New Statesman composing tourney with a complex trending study that has entered the textbooks (eg, Averbakh)."

Almost certainly the same person:

https://prizes.scholarships.utas.edu.au ... ardId=1757

J.N. Baxter Memorial Prize

This prize was established by family, colleagues, friends and former students in honour of the late John Neville Baxter, a member of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Tasmania from 1959 until his death in 1979.

Dr Baxter graduated from the University of Sydney and was awarded a PhD from the University of Leeds. He joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tasmania in1969 and was a senior academic resident of Hytten Hall for 20 years. Dr Baxter’s area of specialisation was in organic chemistry, but within this his particular interest lay in carbohydrate chemistry.

John Neville Baxter (1930-1979). Have only been able to source the birth year to El ajedrez es fácil by Nikolái Krogius (page 122).

[Kevin Thurlow]

Probably not a very useful piece of information, but WJ Gillies worked for HM Customs and Excise. In the 1946 match between West of England and Civil Service, he played a few boards below GD Gillies, who might well be related obviously.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

"O. Pritchard (Altrincham)" may be the Owen Pritchard who ran chess at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys:

https://www.altrinchamheritage.com/wp-c ... 62-v.2.pdf

The History of Altrincham Grammar School for Boys 1912-1962 by R. N. Dore (no publication date, but presumably in around 1963 or soon thereafter).

"[World War II - 1939-1945] Chess, which had been dormant for a time, revived with the coming of a great enthusiast, Mr Owen Pritchard, to the staff." (p.31)

"[The Post-War Years, 1945-62] The infectious enthusiasm of Mr Pritchard continued to spur on the chess club and in these years the range of its activities was quite bewildering: the Altrincham League, the Cheshire County League, the individual county championship, the Cheshire Schools Challenge Shield." (pp.34-35)

"[The Post-War Years, 1945-62] And so the School changes and goes on changing. A few years back, to the great sorrow of his colleagues and those whom he taught, ill health forced Mr Pritchard to retire and the School lost one whose pure enjoyment spread to all around him, whether it was playing bridge or chess, hunting for frog spawn in the spring days or umpiring in enveloping darkness the hectic end of some staff evening cricket game." (p.41)

This Owen Pritchard seems probable here.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

For "R. Beevers (Sheffield)", there is a "Robert 'Bob' R. Beevers" mentioned here:

https://mannchess.org.uk/Sheffield%20Ch ... ch%204.htm

1971: Annual Match: Association v Works [...] Robert (“Bob”) R. Beevers

Care may be needed to distinguish from the "R. C. Beevers" in other grading lists (they may be the same, the 'R.' above may be an error).

https://mannchess.org.uk/Sheffield%20Ch ... ch%200.htm

This is the same match, with the name reported here as "R. C. Beevers".

Am much less sure here than with the other two above. Yorkshire chess historians may be able to confirm here.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

The "H. C. Garner (Civil Service)" may possibly be the H. C. Garner that was playing chess (at a non-Varsity level) at St John's College, Cambridge, in the 1940s:

https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/sites/default ... _1940s.pdf

From a publication titled "College Chronicles 1940s".

"First Team: (1) E. Foster, (2) H. C. Garner, (3) T. Paterson, (4) G. L. Wallach, (5) H. Crosthwaite."

This is from the Lent Term 1942.

The same chess results are reported in the college magazine (The Eagle) for the issue for 1943.

https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/sites/default ... Easter.pdf

H. C. Garner's subsequent applied mathematics and egineering career can be traced through academic papers. It looks like he was an aeronautical engineer/theorist and was involved in some form of Civil Service role that way ("Ministry of Supply"), possibly also working with NASA. He became "A.F.R.Ae.S." (Associate Fellow, Royal Aeronautical Society).

It is possible he was a son of the more famous aerodynamicist Sir Harry Mason Garner (1891-1977):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Garner

The publications by H. C. Garner are here:

https://reports.aerade.cranfield.ac.uk/ ... ype=author

Full name appears to be Henry Clifford Garner.

It took far to long to find that full name, but then this lovely obituary pops up:

https://www.farnboroughsymphony.org.uk/ ... ribute.pdf

This concert is dedicated to the memory of HENRY CLIFFORD GARNER (14th July 1922 – 9th February 2010)

Clifford Garner was born in College Town in Berkshire in 1922. He was the son of the eminent scientific civil servant, Sir Harry Garner, who joined the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) after World War I as an aerodynamicist. [...] He [Clifford] continued his education at St John’s College, Cambridge, graduating in Mathematics with First Class Honours just as his father had. Clifford began his lifelong career in aerodynamics at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington in the early years of World War II. He was directed there as his war service, and the first of his publications on aerodynamics was issued in June 1944. This was an important contribution to Wing Theory concerned with achieving efficient flight through understanding the forces of drag and lift.

In addition to his passion for mathematics and his gifted musicianship he was very able at chess, playing for the NPL Chess Club and serving as Chairman of the Thames Valley Chess League. Much later, in the 1970s, he took on all comers simultaneously at Camberley United Reformed Church Youth Club, and in his late eighties he could still hold his own against Microsoft’s Chess Titans at level 10.

It seems he moved away from league chess in later life (there is a lovely anecdote about a walking holiday), but I feel I should have already known about his chess history, as he went to the same college and university as I did and worked in the place (Teddington) where I grew up, and played chess in the same league as I did (the Thames Valley Chess League)!

Really pleased to have tracked that one down. It has to be the same person from the grading list.

[Brian Denman]

William Turner, Steyning GS and Southwick CC, went to Lincoln College, Oxford, in about 1956. He took part in the 1960 and 1961 Oxford v Cambridge matches.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

H C Lewis is proving to be very difficult to track down.

He seems to have mostly played for Hertfordshire (latest record I found is from 1965) but then there's also an H C Lewis playing on board 6 for Hampshire A on 16th March, 1935. Then on the 21st March, 1936, there is an H C Lewis on quite a low board for Lancashire vs Yorkshire. His club in this match is given as Blackburn. I think this H C Lewis might be a different player.

In the 1958 grading list, the affiliations for H C Lewis are Customs, Wallington and Hertfordshire. Wallington seems to be a long way from Hertfordshire, so perhaps he grew up in Hertfordshire and then moved to Wallington?

In the 1951 grading list H C Lewis's club is Carshalton, and a Hubert C Lewis can be found on the Carshalton electoral roll for 1951. This makes me think that a Hubert Charles Lewis who I looked at earlier might be our man:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/perso ... s/GRVV-BL8

He was born in Southampton on the 13th May, 1907 and died at Wappingthorn Manor, Sussex on the 13th January, 1985. Wappingthorn Manor is an enormous place and worth millions. Definitely not the sort of place you'd expect a civil servant to be able to afford!

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Maybe he had a grace-and-favour apartment on the Wappingthorn Manor Estate? I know a WWI general who lived in a Hampton Court Palace flat at the end of his life.

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

I found Hubert Charles Lewis in the 1939 register (in Birmingham). His occupation is "Civil Service. Officer of Cusoms and Excise". I think this makes it almost certain that the Hubert Charles Lewis I found is the chess player. The date of birth in the 1939 register matches that in the death record.

[Gerard Killoran]

T. Lee (Coventry)

Thomas Lee, managing director of Thomas Lee (Coventry) Ltd., the printing company founded by his father in 1925. Mr. Lee, who was aged 54, was born in Coventry and on leaving school joined the business which his father, Mr. Thomas Lee, started in a workshop attached to his home at Earlsdon. He was well known in local chess circles, and had more than once won the "Evening Telegraph" cup. He was past-president of the Centre Chess Club, Coventry, and the Coventry Chess Association, and was for several years captain of the Warwickshire chess team.

Coventry Evening Telegraph - Friday 16 August 1968 p.62