Gerard Hodgkinson was born at Clifton, Bristol and died at Wookey Hole, Somerset.
17 Facts About Gerard Hodgkinson
1.
2.
Gerard Hodgkinson was the plaintiff in a celebrated literary libel case in the 1930s and a decorated soldier and airman who saw service in both the First and Second World Wars.
3.
Gerard Hodgkinson was educated at Eton College and then joined the family business.
4.
In 1904, Gerard Hodgkinson made the first two of 19 first-class cricket appearances for Somerset as a right-handed middle- or lower-order batsman.
5.
Gerard Hodgkinson was not successful in his 1904 matches for Somerset, nor when he reappeared in two games in 1906.
6.
Gerard Hodgkinson did not play for Somerset in 1908 or 1909, but returned for four games in 1910 and in his first match of the season, against Gloucestershire he made the highest score of his career.
7.
Gerard Hodgkinson never reached such heights again in first-class cricket: that was his only score of more than 50, though in the match against the Indians in 1911 he made 44 in the first innings and 41 in the second.
8.
Gerard Hodgkinson did not appear in first-class cricket after the 1911 season.
9.
Gerard Hodgkinson joined the East African Mounted Rifles on 10 August 1914, six days after the war had been declared.
10.
Gerard Hodgkinson later transferred to the 2nd County of London Yeomanry, but from 1916 he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot.
11.
Gerard Hodgkinson was awarded a Bar to the Military Cross in the 1918 New Year Honours.
12.
Gerard Hodgkinson appears to have served in the East Africa region from July 1918 until his effective discharge the following year.
13.
Gerard Hodgkinson was joint master of the Mendip Farmers' Hunt from 1929 to 1932.
14.
Gerard Hodgkinson was the owner and manager of the Wookey Hole Caves at this time.
15.
Gerard Hodgkinson was appointed officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1945 New Year Honours, by which time he was a squadron leader in the RAF Reserve.
16.
Gerard Hodgkinson finally retired from the RAF on 23 July 1945 and was granted the rank of wing commander on his retirement.
17.
Gerard Hodgkinson had sold the family home at Glencot in the 1930s but continued to live and work in Wookey until his death.