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Name: HODSON, Arnold Wienholt KCMG, Sir

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Birth Date: 12 Feb 1881 Bovey Tracey, Devon

Death Date: 26 May 1944 New York

First Date: 1922

Profession: British Consul at Mega

Area: Mega, Abyssinia

Married: 1928 Elizabeth Charlotte Sarah Hay b. 1904 Scotland, d. 1999 Somerset - related to Marquess of Tweeddale

Children: Arnold (4 Aug 1929-4 Aug 1929); Jean Rosemary (1930); Elizabeth Anne (1934)

Author: 'Trekking the Great Thirst', 'Seven Years in Southern Abyssinia', 'Where Lion Reign'

Book Reference: Lillibullero, Debrett, KAD, Red 25, Colonial, Sportsmen, Chandler, Gazette, Red 19

War Service: joined Australian Commonwealth Horse for service in SA 1902; in Transvaal 1902-4

School: In Italy, at Mulgrave Castle, and at Felsted

General Information:

Lillibullero - everything this outlandish and iron-handed Consul, who was Miles's predecessor at Mega, set his hand to, or did or said, left an impression on the memory.
Debrett - joined Australian Commonwealth Horse for service in S. Africa 1902; in Transvaal 1902-04; employed in connection with Damara War (medal with clasp); was Member of Ngamiland Mission 1906; became Dist. Commr. Somaliland 1912, H.B.M. Consul for S. Abyssinia 1914, and S-W Abyssinia 1923; European War (part time); attended Coronation of Empress Zoditow 1917 (3rd class star of Ethiopia); has African Gen. Ser. medal with clasp (Jubuland 1917-18); attached to Abyssinian Army with Tigre Expedition 1919 (medal with clasp); sometime Capt. Roy. Sussex Regt. (TF); has been Gov. and Com.-in-Ch. (also ex-officio Ch. Justice) of the Falkland Islands Dec. 1926
Colonial - Governor & C-in-c Sierra Leone May 1931; Gold Coast 1934
Sportsmen - Mr Arnold Wienholt Hodson - The son of Mr Algernon Hodson, of 23 Brunswick Square, Hove, Mr Arnold Wienholt Hodson was born on the 12th February 1881, and educated at Mulgrave Castle, Yorkshire, and Felsted School, Essex. In 1900 he went out to the family's properties in Central Queensland and joined the Queensland contingent for the South African War in 1902. Upon the conclusion of the war Mr Arnold Hodson received a commission in the Bechuanaland Protectorate Police, and was appointed District Commissioner in Somaliland in 1912. In his school days boxing was his favourite pastime, and he was a useful light weight, but residence in South Africa and Somaliland has brought with it a change in sporting tastes, and Mr Hodson now prefers the various forms of hunting and shooting to be obtained in Africa. He has won numerous prizes for rifle-shooting, and shot in two successive years in the Cape Colony Inter-Colonial team; but his preference is naturally for big game shooting, and his numerous experiences in that arduous and exciting sport are delightfully told in his book, "Trekking the Great Thirst".
Chandler - Born in England, Arnold Hodson took an early interest in shooting and hunting. In 1900 he travelled to Australia where he worked as a shepherd, and later that year he enlisted with the 7th Australian Commonwealth Horse, arriving in South Africa just in time for peace to break out in 1902. After the unit was disbanded, Hodson stayed in Africa, taking odd jobs in Durban and Pretoria. He became a subinspector with the Bechuanaland Protectorate Police in 1904, and an assistant resident magistrate for Western Bechuanaland in 1905. ………. In 1912 Hodson was transferred as a district commissioner to Somaliland, and in 1914 he took a consul's job in Ethiopia. In 1926 he became Governor of the Falkland Islands and in 1930 Governor of Sierra Leone. …….. Later Governor of the Gold Coast. ……..
Hodson was an exceptional man, possessing talents and gifts in greater abundance than most colonial officials, who on the whole were a pretty impressive lot. His outstanding characteristics were integrity and courage - not flashy bravado but a quiet resolve to do what's right.
Gazette 28/10/1914 - Arrived on 1st Appointment - HBM's Consul S. Abyssinia - 16/10/1914
Lillibullero - his humorous, madcap despatches from Mega so tickled Lord Curzon, so it is said, that he set him on the road of fame. ...…
KAD 1922 - H.B.M.'s Consul for S. Abyssinia

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