1955 British Chess Championship, Aberystwyth, 22 August - 2 September • 1954« »1956

1955 British Chess Championship		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Harry Golombek	Chalfont St Giles	b5=	w25+	b28+	w3+	b7=	w4=	b15+	w2-	b24+	w10+	b12+	8½
2	Robert Graham Wade	London/NZ	w32+	b8=	w17=	b12=	w5-	w9+	b6+	b1+	w15+	b7=	b3+	8
3	(Philip) Stuart Milner-Barry	London	w11+	b4=	w8+	b1-	w20=	w17=	b16+	b28+	w7+	b5+	w2-	7½
4	Alan Phillips	London	b31+	w3=	w24+	b15=	w6+	b1=	w5+	b7-	b10=	w16+	b9=	7½
5	Frank Parr	Sutton	w1=	b33=	b30+	w24+	b2+	w7+	b4-	w10=	b8+	w3-	b16+	7½
6	Brian J Moore	Birmingham	w8-	b11+	w14+	w31+	b4-	b24=	w2-	w26+	b12=	b15+	w7+	7
7	Jonathan Penrose	London	b10+	w26+	w15=	b16+	w1=	b5-	w18+	w4+	b3-	w2=	b6-	6½
8	Andrew Rowland Benedick Thomas	Tiverton	b6+	w2=	b3-	w28=	b29+	w16=	w24=	b17+	w5-	b11=	w15+	6½
9	Michael John Haygarth	Leeds	w15-	b19=	w23+	b27+	w18-	b2-	w32+	b11=	w17+	b25+	w4=	6½
10	James Macrae Aitken	Cheltenham	w7-	b18+	w29+	b17-	w31+	w20+	b12=	b5=	w4=	b1-	w11=	6
11	Arnold Yorwarth Green	London	b3-	w6-	w34+	b14+	w21+	b12-	b20=	w9=	b28+	w8=	b10=	6
12	Michael J Franklin	London	b26-	b36+	w33+	w2=	b16=	w11+	w10=	b15-	w6=	b24+	w1-	6
13	Percy Baldwin Cook	London	w27=	b23+	w16-	b18-	w30=	b22=	w21=	b33+	w25=	b29+	w19=	6
14	(Nicholas) Anthony Perkins	London	w19+	b15-	b6-	w11-	w34=	b25-	w36+	b27=	w35+	b30+	w24+	6
15	Thomas John Beach	Liverpool	b9+	w14+	b7=	w4=	b17+	b18=	w1-	w12+	b2-	w6-	b8-	5½
16	Baruch Harold Wood	Sutton Coldfield	b20=	w21+	b13+	w7-	w12=	b8=	w3-	b19+	w30+	b4-	w5-	5½
17	Peter Hugh Clarke	Ilford	b28=	w20+	b2=	w10+	w15-	b3=	b29=	w8-	b9-	w31+	b22=	5½
18	John Spencer Purdy	Australia	b25=	w10-	b22+	w13+	b9+	w15=	b7-	w24-	b29=	b19=	w21=	5½
19	Leonard William Barden	London	b14-	w9=	b21=	b33=	w27=	w26=	b22+	w16-	b20+	w18=	b13=	5½
20	George Shorrock Ashcombe Wheatcroft	London	w16=	b17-	w25+	w26+	b3=	b10-	w11=	b30-	w19-	b36+	w29+	5½
21	Kenneth William Lloyd	Birmingham	w23=	b16-	w19=	b35+	b11-	w29-	b13=	w32+	b22=	w28+	b18=	5½
22	Reginald Walter Bonham	Worcester	w36+	b24-	w18-	b30=	b26=	w13=	w19-	b35+	w21=	b27+	w17=	5½
23	Edward Guthlac Sergeant	Kingston Hill	b21=	w13-	b9-	b25+	w33=	w27=	b26-	b34-	w36+	b35+	w31+	5½
24	Gerald Abrahams	Liverpool	w34+	w22+	b4-	b5-	w28+	w6=	b8=	b18+	w1-	w12-	b14-	5
25	Stanley Clifford Davey	Ipswich	w18=	b1-	b20-	w23-	b36+	w14+	b27+	w29=	b13=	w9-	b26=	5
26	Peter Campbell Gibbs	Bradford	w12+	b7-	w27=	b20-	w22=	b19=	w23+	b6-	w33=	b34=	w25=	5
27	James Neale	Cheltenham	b13=	w35=	b26=	w9-	b19=	b23=	w25-	w14=	b32+	w22-	b34+	5
28	Dr. Stefan Fazekas	Buckhurst Hill	w17=	b29+	w1-	b8=	b24-	w33+	b30+	w3-	w11-	b21-	w32=	4½
29	Harold Israel	London	w30+	w28-	b10-	b32+	w8-	b21+	w17=	b25=	w18=	w13-	b20-	4½
30	John H Beaty	Doncaster	b29-	b34+	w5-	w22=	b13=	b31+	w28-	w20+	b16-	w14-	b35=	4½
31	Slade Milan	Stockport	w4-	b32+	w35+	b6-	b10-	w30-	b33-	w36+	w34+	b17-	b23-	4
32	Theodore Watts1	Southport	b2-	w31-	b36+	w29-	b35=	w34+	b9-	b21-	w27-	w33+	b28=	4
33	Geoffrey J Martin	Ilford	b35=	w5=	b12-	w19=	b23=	b28-	w31+	w13-	b26=	b32-	w36-	3½
34	Joseph Maurice Soesan	Ilford	b24-	w30-	b11-	w36+	b14=	b32-	w35=	w23+	b31-	w26=	w27-	3½
35	J Walker	Sulhampstead	w33=	b27=	b31-	w21-	w32=	b36=	b34=	w22-	b14-	w23-	w30=	3
36	Arthur Stanley Griffiths	Blackwood	b22-	w12-	w32-	b34-	w25-	w35=	b14-	b31-	b23-	w20-	b33+	1½

Geoffrey Martin was ill and defaulted his last-round game against Arthur Griffiths

¹ Theodore Watts (born 5 August 1930, Leicester, died 29 September 1964, Salford) was the son of Harold Horace Watts (born 24 June 1892, Stockton-on-Tees, died 2 September 1967, Southport) who played in the 1954 British Championship and 1956 BCF Major Open. Harold was a civil servant, employed by HM Customs & Excise as a surveyor. Theodore was a chemical engineer. They were both living at 45 Crescent Road, Birkdale, Southport, at the time of the 1939 Census.

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1955 British Ladies' Chess Championship • 1954« »1956

1955 British Ladies Championship		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
1	Rowena Mary Bruce (née Dew)	Plymouth	&;	1	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	7
2	Joan Frances Doulton	London	0	&;	½	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	7
3	Dorothea Denise Alma (Dody) Bourdillon (née Rodwell)	London	1	½	&;	1	0	1	1	0	½	1	6
4	Mary A E A Henniker-Heaton 1	London	0	0	0	&;	1	1	½	1	1	1	5½
5	Deirdre Colmer	London	0	½	1	0	&;	1	½	1	0	1	5
6	Sarah Margaret (Peggy) Steedman (née Wilson)	Glasgow	1	0	0	0	0	&;	1	1	1	1	5
7	Leah Margaret Hogarth	Glasgow	0	0	0	½	½	0	&;	1	1	0	3
8	Hilda Florence Chater	Belfast	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	&;	1	1	3
9	Beryl E F Kenyon	Cardiff	0	0	½	0	1	0	0	0	&;	1	2½
10	Myrtle Barnes	Bromley	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	&;	1

¹ The player's full name was in fact Mary Araluen Elizabeth Anne Henniker-Heaton (1904-1972).

Bruce-Doulton Play-off Match (reported in BCM, November 1955): One win each and two draws - agreed to share title

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1955 BCF Major Open

Ranking	1955 BCF Major Open	Total
1-2	Herbert Gibson Rhodes (Southport), Dr. Jakob Adolf Seitz (Argentina)	8½
3	David Edward Lloyd (Birmingham)	7½
4-5	Peter A Harris (Oldbury), John H Pollitt ((Stockport)	7
6-10	Charles Reuben Gurnhill (Sheffield), Brian Halliwell (Preston), Harry Gethin Thorp Matchett (Birmingham), Victor John Anthony Russ (Birstall, Leicester), F Smith (Blackburn)	6½
11-13	Richard Frank Holmes (Cambridge), Alan Edgar Nield (St Leonards), Douglas Saunderson (Chesterfield)	6
14-18	Kenneth Leslie Gardner ((Birmingham), Herbert Francis Gook (South Croydon), James Roderick Nicolson (Manchester), John James O'Hanlon (Dublin), Stephen Wilkinson (Loughton)	5½
19-23	Philip Edward Collier (Leicester), B Howard (Blackpool), William Souter Mackie (South Africa), Leonard W Oliver (South Shields), Cyril Owen Welch (Bristol)	5
24-25	Otto Henry Hardy (Batley), Arthur T Watson (Southwick)	4½
26	J Johnson (Liverpool)	4
27	Philip B Sarson (Harrow)	3½
28-29	Harry Booth (Oxford), George Henry Simmons (Scunthorpe)	2½
30	Kevin Marsh (Australia)	2

1955 British Junior [Under 21] Championship—(1) John Dudley Taylor (Oakham) 10½; (2) Thomas Anselm Landry (London) 10; (3) G H Davies (Wallasey) 6½; (4) R Marshall (Leicester) 5; (5) J Gordon Lloyd (Nottingham) 4; (6-7) R A Coulson (Leighton Buzzard), M J Walker (Aberystwyth) 3. ["The British Junior Championship tournament had to he rearranged because only 7 of the original 10 competitors were able to play. This compelled the controllers to convert it into a double-round event of 14 rounds and there were two rounds per day on Tuesday 23 Aug, Thursday 25 Aug and Monday 29 Aug." (Bulletin)] n.b. CHESS, 30 September 1955, has different initials, scores and rankings of players from 4th place onwards, thus: (4) A [sic - think this initial is wrong as R appears throughout the bulletin - JS] Marshall (Leicester) 5; (5) R A Coulson (Leighton Buzzard) 4; (6-7) J G Lloyd (Nottingham), M J Walker (Aberystwyth) 3. N.B. The tournament bulletin does not include results of non-prize-winners.

1955 British Boys' [Under 18] Championship: (1-2) Clifford G Tayar (Birmingham), David A Tidmarsh (London) 8; (3) Michael Macdonald-Ross (London) 7½; (4-5) John M Dawson (Bristol), Simon A Harding (Ipswich) 7; (6-8) William S Deeth (London), Bruce J McGreevy (Liverpool), J B Thomas (Epsom) 6½; (9-14) Raymond B Edwards (Harrogate), Michael Lipton (London), Alan K May (Richmond), Robert H Northage (Quorn), William Stanley Powell (Stoke), Michael E Ventham (Southampton) 6; (15-18) Charles Burton (Birmingham), Kenneth Hilton (Liverpool), W Turner (Lewes), John F Wheeler (Plympton) 5½; (19-21) Barry James Norman Blight (Plymouth), P McLaren (Edinburgh), D K Peters (Port Talbot) 5; (22-24) Brian Ewart (Wallasey), Anthony James Leggett¹ (Staines), P M Thomas (Leicester) 4½; (25) P M Hodkinson (Manchester) 3½; (26-27) A Oakes (Doncaster), A P Needham (Denton) 3; 28 George W Wheeler (Plympton) 5.
¹ Sir Anthony James Leggett (1938-2026), winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Physics - biography.

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The 1955 British Girls' Under-18 Championship was held at the Bognor Regis Congress in April 1955. The results were as follows:

1955 British Girls' Under-18 Championship

1955 British Girls Under-18 Chess Championship		Resid.	1	2	3	4	5	6	Total
1	Margaret Eileen Elizabeth (Peggy) Wood	Sutton Coldfield	&;	0	1	1	1	1	4
2	Margaret Wood	Bicester	1	&;	0	½	1	½	3
3	Susan Smith	London	0	1	&;	1	0	1	3
4	June Beckett	Bromley	0	½	0	&;	1	1	2½
5	Sheila A Corbyn	Birmingham	0	0	1	0	&;	½	1½
6	E Shirley Mann	Birmingham	0	½	0	0	½	&;	1

Round 1: S Mann ½-½ M Wood; Beckett 0-1 Smith; Corbyn 0-1 P Wood
Round 2: P Wood 1-0 Mann; Smith 0-1 Corbyn; M Wood ½-½ Beckett
Round 3: Mann 0-1 Beckett; Corbyn 0-1 M Wood; P Wood 1-0 Smith
Round 4: Smith 1-0 Mann; M Wood 1-0 P Wood; Beckett 1-0 Corbyn
Round 5: Corbyn ½-½ Mann; P Wood 1-0 Beckett; Smith 1-0 M Wood

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BCF First Class: (1) (Derek) George Ellison (Bolton) 9½; (2-5) Tom Harman (Coventry), Alfred Milner (Didsbury), Rev. Kenneth Stuart Procter (London), Colin A H Russ (Sutton) 7½; (6-9) G F Barnard (Cardiff), Thomas E L Chataway (Clent), Austen Lacey Homer, Donald O Gould (Leicester) 7; (10-16) J Bate (Chester), Charles Hatch (Southport), Rev. Arthur Percival Lacy-Hulbert (Ludlow), Harry Starbuck Littlechild (Wisbech), Patrick Humphrey Sullivan (Dartford), D Thomas (Bristol), J W Thornley (Manchester) 6; (17-19) A Archer (Stoke), A H Kirkman (Liverpool), Oscar Serck (Knighton) 5½; (20-21) W J Matthews (Bristol), Christopher Baruch Wood (Sutton Coldfield) 5; (22-25) B K Jeary (Plymouth), H E Baxter (Manchester), P H Fudge (Bristol), Sir John Charles Walton (Hastings) 4½; (26-28) William John C H Burges (Blockley), J Taynton Evans (Newport), George Arthur Peck (Rugby) 4; (29) Geoffrey George Homan (Rochester) 3½; (30) H Taylor (Manchester) 3; (31) P Laurent 2 (France - withdrew after Round 6); (32) A Terrett (Norwich) 1½.

BCF Second Class: (1) F[rederick?] C[larence?] Shorter (London - Islington CC) 8½/11; (2-3) S H Jackson (Liverpool), Gregory Owen John Melitus (London) 7½; (4) (Rex) Frank T Wood (Sutton Coldfield) 7; (5) Lewis James Worsell (Chestfield, Kent) 6½; (6-8) David Rowcliffe R Ellis (Chester), Miss N Harris (London), R Samuels (Liverpool) 5½; (9) W H Reynolds (Rugby) 4½; (10) Thomas William Crabb (Sheffield) 3½; (11) J E Mort (Middleton) 2½; (12) J Salt (Chesterfield) 2.

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File Updated

Date	Notes
28 March 2018	Two games amended to show the correct date (Milner-Barry-Green, Round 1 and Franklin-Aitken, Round 7)
29 March 2018	Name amendment - 'Moore, BJ' changed to 'Moore, Brian J'
23 September 2020	Some cosmetic changes, plus amended Arthur S Griffiths to Arthur Stanley Griffiths.
10 May 2021	Some more cosmetic changes - added residential info for all players, etc.
10 May 2021	Four more games, from the Aitken collection - Rd 3 v H Israel, Rd 6 v G Wheatcroft, Rd 9 v A Phillips, Rd 11 v AY Green.
27 April 2022	Added two games from the First Class section: (1) Lacy-Hulbert 1-0 Sir John Walton; (2) NN 0-1 Lacy-Hulbert. Contributed by Gerard Killoran via the English Chess Forum, for which many thanks.