Cecil William Davidge (28 March 1863 – 16 January 1936) was a professor of English, author and

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Davidge was the father of the barrister and academic

Cecil Vere Davidge Cecil Vere Davidge of Little Houghton House Deputy lieutenant, DL (14 February 1901 – 27 January 1981) was a British lawyer and academic, who served as a Oxbridge Fellow, Fellow and bursar of Keble College, Oxford, and as High Sheriff of N ...

and grandfather of

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

Christopher Davidge Christopher Guy Vere Davidge, of Little Houghton House, OBE DL (5 November 1929 – 22 December 2014) was a British rower who competed in the Summer Olympics three times in 1952, 1956 and 1960 and won the Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta ...

Early life

Davidge was born on 28 March 1863 the only son of Frederick William Davidge and his wife, Harriet Julia Frances Ponsonby, daughter of the Major General

the Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

Sir Frederick Ponsonby. He was educated at

Hurstpierpoint College Hurstpierpoint College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school), located just north of the village of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex. The Co ...

, followed by

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

where he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English, and

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

where he received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in English.

Academic career

Following university Davidge headed the

United Society Partners in the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organisation (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Pa ...

mission to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

from 1898 until 1907 and became a master at the SPG School of Kobe. Following the SPG mission in 1907 he entered the service of the Imperial Japanese Government as Professor of English, University College of Commerce,

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, he remained in that position until 1930. During his period as Professor of English, he tutored

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

, the future Emperor Shōwa. He was awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, 4th Class; the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

, 4th Class, until he was promoted to the rank of Chokunin.

Masonic career

As well as his academic work, Davidge was also the founder and Master (late Past Master) of the Lodge Albion in the Far East and a PDGW (Grand Warden) of the District Grand Lodge of Japan.

Literary work

During his time in Japan, Davidge wrote the book ''Practical Hints for Craftsmen'', published in 1910 and republished in 2014 as a book of Historical Interest. Following his retirement from Japan in 1930 he retired to

Kingsthorpe Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

and helped with the Northamptonshire Record Society.

Family

In 1900 in

, Japan, Davidge married Elsie Hamer, daughter of Henry Hamer of Hamer Hall,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. The Hamers were an old Lancashire family who settled at Hamer Hall in the 14th century. The couple had three children together: *

(14 February 1901 – 27 January 1981) * Cuthbert Roy Davidge * Beryl Davidge Davidge's wife, Elsie died in 1927 in a car accident in Kobe where the taxi she was in was driven off a cliff.

References

External links

Who's Who Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidge, Cecil William 1863 births 1936 deaths People educated at Hurstpierpoint College Alumni of University College London People from London British writers British academics British expatriates in Japan Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Durham University Boat Club rowers Cecil William