Gilbert Hodgkinson

Who was Gilbert Hodgkinson?

Gilbert Frank Hodgkinson was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1935 and 1946 and captained the team in 1946.

Hodgkinson was born at Derby, the second son in a family of six children, and educated at Derby School. He ran a family grocery business "Austin Hodgkinson", having as a result little time to spare for the sport. He made his debut for Derbyshire in the 1935 season against the touring South Africans in May. In the match, he made 44 runs including nine fours which came mainly from drives and this was the side's top score in the match and his own career best score. He made two more first-team appearances for the Derbyshire team in 1935 and one in the 1937 season. Otherwise, he played mainly in second team games in the pre-war period.

In World War II Hodgkinson was wounded badly in the head and taken prisoner in 1940. After the war he was captain for the 1946 season at a time when Derbyshire had difficulty finding anyone to commit to the task. He played regularly in the season and Derbyshire ended the season fifteenth in the table. Hodgkinson ended his career with Derbyshire in 1946 but played one game for North Wales in 1947.