Stephen Roxby Dodds
Encyclopedia
Stephen Roxby Dodds was an English lawyer
and Liberal
politician.
in Cheshire
the son of T L Dodds, a local Justice of the Peace
and his wife Jane. He was educated at Rydal Schoo
l in Colwyn Bay
and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
where he gained MA and LL.B
degrees. He married Edith May Bell from Heswall
in Cheshire. They never had children. In religion he was a Methodist.
solicitors in 1903 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1906. In 1910 he was a founder of the firm of Dodds, Ashcroft & Cook with premises at 24 Fenwick Street, Liverpool. He was qualified as a solicitor, Commissioner for Oaths and Notary Public
. He also served as a Justice of the Peace.
as a Liberal at the 1922 general election
coming second to the sitting Conservative
MP, Gershom Stewart in a three-cornered contest. Dodds fought Wirral again at the 1923 general election
when, in the absence of a Labour
candidate, he won the seat from Stewart with a majority of 1,840 votes. Despite Labour’s withdrawal it was still expected that Stewart would hold the seat. The Conservatives had revived by the time of the 1924 general election
when the new Tory
candidate, John Grace, regained the Wirral from Dodds in a straight fight.
Dodds tried to win the Wirral constituency once more, at the 1929 general election
but this time Labour were back in the field and he again came runner-up to Grace, a local barrister, with Labour candidate George Beardsworth, a trade union official in third place.
(London). He was also President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, 1925–26, and again in 1926–27 and President of the Birkenhead Literary and Scientific Society in 1914. He served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of his old school, Rydal School and was also a Governor of Wirral Grammar School and Wirral County School for Girls.
in Cheshire on 10 September 1943 aged 62 years.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician.
Family and education
Dodds was born in BirkenheadBirkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
the son of T L Dodds, a local Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and his wife Jane. He was educated at Rydal Schoo
Rydal Penrhos
Rydal Penrhos is a private co-educational boarding school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town including a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-on-Sea where it keeps its watersports equipment for easy access to the beach.The school, as it exists today,...
l in Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...
and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
where he gained MA and LL.B
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degrees. He married Edith May Bell from Heswall
Heswall
Heswall is a town in Wirral, in the county of Merseyside, England. Administratively, it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. At the time of the 2001 Census, the total population of the ward was 16,012 , which included the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton...
in Cheshire. They never had children. In religion he was a Methodist.
Career
Dodds went in for the law. He was articled as a clerk to a firm of LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
solicitors in 1903 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1906. In 1910 he was a founder of the firm of Dodds, Ashcroft & Cook with premises at 24 Fenwick Street, Liverpool. He was qualified as a solicitor, Commissioner for Oaths and Notary Public
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
. He also served as a Justice of the Peace.
Politics
Dodds contested the Wirral Division of CheshireWirral (UK Parliament constituency)
Wirral was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
as a Liberal at the 1922 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
coming second to the sitting Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP, Gershom Stewart in a three-cornered contest. Dodds fought Wirral again at the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
when, in the absence of a Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate, he won the seat from Stewart with a majority of 1,840 votes. Despite Labour’s withdrawal it was still expected that Stewart would hold the seat. The Conservatives had revived by the time of the 1924 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
when the new Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
candidate, John Grace, regained the Wirral from Dodds in a straight fight.
Dodds tried to win the Wirral constituency once more, at the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
but this time Labour were back in the field and he again came runner-up to Grace, a local barrister, with Labour candidate George Beardsworth, a trade union official in third place.
Other appointments
Dodds served as President of the Liverpool Law Society, 1939–40 and was a member of the Council of the Law SocietyLaw society
A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions was historically an association of solicitors with a regulatory role that included the right to supervise the training, qualifications and conduct of lawyers/solicitors...
(London). He was also President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, 1925–26, and again in 1926–27 and President of the Birkenhead Literary and Scientific Society in 1914. He served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of his old school, Rydal School and was also a Governor of Wirral Grammar School and Wirral County School for Girls.
Death
Dodds died suddenly at his home, Heath Moor, HeswallHeswall
Heswall is a town in Wirral, in the county of Merseyside, England. Administratively, it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. At the time of the 2001 Census, the total population of the ward was 16,012 , which included the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton...
in Cheshire on 10 September 1943 aged 62 years.