Page 89 - WHO'S WHO OF DUDLEY ROTARY

He joined the Ministry of Labour in 1921 as a clerk and rose through the ranks. As Manager in
Dudley he lived in a flat in Castle Street.

277 Wilfrid (‘Wilfred’) Victor FAULKNER (1905-1993) (Elected ~11.1945; may have left in early
1949.) In June 1938 he was appointed as a Vehicle Examiner for the Ministry of Transport, and
this may have been his occupation when he joined the club, but he appears to have changed his
business several times. In Autumn 1947 his work moved to Brierley Hill and Stourbridge so he
was advised that he could not remain a member of Dudley club. His transfer to Brierley Hill club
was recommended but did not take place. In August 1948 he was continuing to attend at
lunchtimes despite being told he was no longer a member!! However his business connections
again changed and it appeared possible that he might be eligible for membership after all ! At
1951 he is believed to have been the manager of the Dudley branch of Messrs. Davenports (C.B.)
Ltd, better known as ‘Davenports Beer At Home’.
He was born in Lichfield but as an infant moved to Manchester where his father was a brass
polisher for the Corporation Tramways. Wilfrid set up as a Motor Tyre Repairer & Vulcanizer in
Manchester before moving to Dudley about 1935. He joined the Training Branch of the Royal
Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1941 as a Pilot Officer and retired in 1956 with the rank of Flight
Lieutenant. The following year he became an officer with the local Army Cadet Force and
remained until obliged to retire because of age in 1970 with the honorary rank of Captain.

278 William Arnold BONSER (1899-1978) (Elected c.11.1945; resigned c.2.1948 because leaving
Dudley.) Youth Organiser for Dudley Borough Education Department from 1945 to February
1948, when he moved to Orpington, Kent. He grew up in London and for the last year of the
Great War served with the City of London Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (‘3rd London Regiment’),
being wounded in action. He was then an assistant chemist in a manufacturing perfumery in
Hackney. Through the 1930s he appears to have been an accountant in London, but at the start
of the last War he was Assistant Organising Secretary of the Boy Scouts Association based at its
national headquarters, Gilwell Park, Chingford. It was natural, therefore, that during his brief
period in Dudley he was also Secretary of Dudley & District Boy Scouts Association.

279 Lieut.Col. Christopher (‘Kit’) Garrett ELKINGTON DSO TD DL (1891-1970) (Elected c.3.1946;
resigned 8.5.1947 because out of the district most of his time.) Director
of N Hingley & Sons, owners of Netherton Ironworks and also a director
of Elkington & Co., the celebrated firm of silversmiths and electroplate
manufacturers, and of numerous other companies including Coombs
Wood colliery Halesowen, Yew Tree colliery Netherton and the Brierley
Hill Colliery Co. He did not go directly into the family firm of Elkingtons
despite his father being a Director for many years. Instead he started
work as an auctioneer’s pupil with John Margetts & Sons of Warwick and
soon qualified as an agricultural valuer and estate agent. When the First
World War broke out he joined the 8th Battalion The Gloucestershire
Regiment in 1914 and served with them in France until seriously wounded in 1916 at Grandcourt
on the Somme. With six men he attacked and silenced an enemy machine gun, but was twice
wounded. He continued to direct operations until severely wounded again. For this action, as
Captain Elkington, he was awarded the DSO. From 1928 to May 1932 he commanded the 7th
Battalion Worcestershire Regiment (Territorials) with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During
training and drill he showed his skill as an expert horseman. Soon after the start of the second
World War he was asked to form a battalion of the Home Guard in the Dudley area, which he
did with great success despite ill-health.
He was District Commissioner for Stourbridge Boy Scouts from 1937, Chairman of the Midland
Council of the National Union of Manufacturers (fore-runner of the Confederation of British