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Born the fifth of
seven sons to his parents William and
Augusta
, Harold Augustus Hodges arrived on January 22nd 1886 at Mansfield
Wodehouse, Nottinghamshire. After spending his early school years at
Roclareston
School
in January 1899 he entered Sedbergh, a school whose rugby prowess was as strong
then as it remains today. The young Hodges soon found success on its’ playing
pitches, becoming a member of the schools first fifteen for four years, and
captaining it for his final two years. He also showed a great aptitude on the
cricket pitch, making the Sedbergh eleven for five years and captaining it for
three.
With his time at
Sedbergh over Hodges went up to
Trinity
College
,
Oxford
in January 1905. His reputation as a dashing forward had obviously preceded him
as he was selected for the University rugby team in his freshman year, gaining
his first blue against
Cambridge
on December 12th 1905. During this encounter Oxford were the loosing
side although it remained a notable occasion for Hodges not only for his debut
blue, but also as he took the pitch against one of his older brothers, E.C.
Hodges, who played for the light blues as the two sides battled at the Queens
Club.
Although this
match may have done little for the harmony of the Hodges’ household that
Christmas, it was a fine platform for Harold to display his skills, and given
the nature of the Varsity match it came as little surprise that the selectors
were watching the teams with interest. Most likely influenced by his display at
the Queens Club they called upon Hodges to reproduce this form, but this time
for his country.
Selected for a
debut cap against
Wales
at
Richmond
on January 13th 1906 Hodges joined an
England
side who were to have a disappointing season with the Championship title
eventually shared between
Ireland
and
Wales
. The Welsh match was lost by three points to sixteen, with
England
suffering a similar fate during Hodges second match in the white shirt of
England
the following month against
Ireland
. Played at
Leicester
on February 10th 1906 this match was also lost, this time by six
points to sixteen. Hodges was never selected for his country again, although
this may be a reflection of the disjointed selection process of the time rather
than any particular failing on Hodges part. Despite this setback Hodges was by
now also playing for Midland Counties and then there was always
Oxford
.
Hodges continued
with the
Oxford
varsity team throughout his tenure at the university, eventually becoming one
of the few students of his era to win four blues. His fortunes in the Dark Blue
of Oxford were mixed. After the defeat by his bothers’
Cambridge
side in 1905 the 1906 and 1907 encounters went Oxfords way. In the 1908 season
Hodges attained the honor of captaining the
Oxford
side, although as with his
England
experience this proved to be a double edged sword as
Oxford
had a poor season, at least in the more important fixtures.
Oxford
under Hodges stewardship lost their match against the visiting Australians by
three points to nineteen, despite the sending off of one of the Australian
forwards. The varsity match a month later in December 1908 was a draw. Reports
of the match show that although
Oxford
had a pack of big forwards, including Hodges, they were generally slower than
their
Cambridge
opponents and probably more importantly were also generally outscrummaged by
them. It must have been with a sense of some frustration and disappointment that
Hodges went down from
Oxford
soon after the varsity match, his career at
Oxford
over.
Moving on Hodges,
a noted French scholar, spent some months in
Paris
at the Sorbonne before returning to
Britain
and joining Tonbridge school as a master in September 1909. His interest in
sport was also undiminished as he played both for the
Nottingham
club at rugby as well as the Nottinghamshire cricket eleven in the 1912-13
season.
With the outbreak
of war Hodges, along with thousands of others, immediately followed the call to
arms and enlisted in August 1914. After just three weeks training with the
Officer Training Corps he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the third
Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment where the training for conflict
continued. Arriving at the front in February 1915 Hodges was soon engaged in the
turmoil of battle, being seriously wounded by shellfire at
Ypres
in May. With not uncommon fortitude for the time he returned to his Regiment by
July despite the shell fragments that the surgeons’ had failed to remove. On
April 16th Hodges distinguished himself by preventing a serious
explosion during a fire at an ammunition dump in Faceville, an act for which he
received the thanks of his divisional commander. With continuing combat by July
1916 the third Monmouthshires had been decimated to such an extent by casualties
that they were disbanded, and Hodges was transferred to the eleventh Battalion
of the South Lancashire Regiment, by now an acting Captain with this rank being
confirmed in December 1916. For most of the remainder of the First World War
Hodges remained in the thick of the fighting, enduring this with a noticeable
courage. One account relates how he carried a wounded soldier over a mile across
no mans land to a first aid station. Twice in 1917 Hodges was mentioned in
dispatches.
By March 1918
Hodges and his Battalion were stationed in the already war torn area of the
Somme
, where they faced the last major German offensive of the first world war. With
America
entering the war it was imperative for the Germans to attack whilst they still
had a numerical advantage. The Battle of St Quentin began on March 21st.
Three days later on the 24th Hodges was stationed near Ham, and was
tasked to regain contact with a battalion which was reported to be in a small
factory on the Ham-Eppeville road. At night and with battle raging confusion
reined. Leaving the majority of his company in a railway cutting Hodges advanced
on the factory with only one of his junior officer’s for company. Instead of
the expected British forces he found the building occupied by the advancing
German forces. Drawing his sidearm Hodges opened fire until he was himself cut
down, one more victim of the charnel house that was the
Somme
.
Sources
"The
Complete Who's Who of England Rugby Union Internationals", R Maule,
Breedon 1992
The
Times Online Digital Archive
Wikepedia
www.1914-1918.net
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The
Rugby History Society