Page 72 - WHO'S WHO OF DUDLEY ROTARY

for the County Borough of Stockport, Cheshire but sadly died there just a few years later, at the
age of 50.
He was brought up in Blackburn, Lancashire but moved to Walsall with his parents in 1923,
when he was 18. He joined the Parks Department there and the following year became a Fellow
of the Royal Horticultural Society by examination. He was a noted sportsman in the town,
playing football for Walsall Reserves and cricket for Walsall second eleven. From 1934 he was
secretary to Dudley Town Football Club despite objections from some councillors that this would
detract from his efficiency as parks superintendent.

222 Robert Fortington NEAVE (1872-1955) (Elected 27.2.1939; resigned 18.6.1946 following his
retirement.) Classification ‘Political Association’. He was Conservative
and Unionist Agent for Dudley from 1929 to 1946 (in succession to
Frederick McDowell, member #71), based at the Junior Conservative
Club, Priory Road. He continued to live in St James’s Road, Dudley after
his retirement but following the death of his wife in 1951 moved to Bury
St Edmunds to live with his son.
He grew up in the Hunstanton area of North Norfolk where he started
work as a grocer’s assistant. He then became a book seller in Norwich
but was active in local politics. In 1905 he was appointed Conservative
agent for North Norfolk, then two years later as agent for the Gainsborough division,
Lincolnshire. In 1911 he became chief Conservative agent for North Buckinghamshire. He joined
the Buckinghamshire Volunteer Regiment and soon became Captain Neave, Company
Commander of the Wolverton and Stony Stratford platoon, and also served as an officer in the
local Special Constabulary. He was also a member of the Buckinghamshire County Appeals
Tribunal which heard requests for exemption from military service. In 1919 he returned to
Norwich as Conservative Agent where he remained for 10 years before moving to Dudley.
During the last war he was on the staff of the Civil Defence HQ at Dudley.

223 Harold Thomas WOODALL (1905-1981) (Elected 27.2.1939; resigned 26.6.1939 on having
entered business in Wolverhampton.) Hearth Furniture Manufacturing. He was presumably
connected with Isaiah Woodall & Sons Ltd, brass founders and hearth furniture manufacturers
of Porter Street, although not the son of Horace Woodall, director of the firm, who was
previously a member of the Rotary club (#74). On leaving the club and moving to
Wolverhampton he started a completely different business, as a Corn, Flour and Seed Merchant.
His premises were in Dudley Road, Blakenhall for a couple of years before moving to Penn. He
was a native of Upper Gornal, Dudley.

224 Albert Edward KIDSON (1885-1949) (Elected 27.3.1939; died 2.11.1949 whilst still a member.)
Structural Engineer. He appears to have practised in his own name from home, which was at
Burnt Tree until 1935 and then in Priory Close, until 1947. He was then joined in the business
by his son Kenneth. They practised as A E Kidson & Son, Chartered Structural Engineers from an
office in Dudley High Street. (Kenneth became a member of the Rotary Club in 1951, #317.)
Albert grew up at Moxley near Wednesbury. His first job on leaving school was as a structural
draughtsman at a nearby ironworks, most likely the Patent Shaft & Axletree Company. By 1921
he was a draughtsman with engineers and ironfounders Nortons (Tividale) Limited at Tipton.

225 Richard George McLAREN LANE (1902-1977) (Elected 22.5.1939; left in early 1940.) Air Raid
Precautions Officer for Dudley, with the rank of Captain in the Regular Army Intelligence Corps,
from April 1939 until May 1940 when he accepted a War Office appointment. (He succeeded
Thomas Domaille, who was also a member of the club for a short time - #218 above.) He had
only been in the job a few weeks when he controversially relieved the Head Air Raid Warden of
his duties for lack of co-operation.