William Dod was born on the18th of July 1867 in Lower Bebington and enjoyed the perks of a privileged upbringing. His father had made his fortune in the cotton trade, and was able to support his children financially, meaning that they would not have to work for a living with William being educated at home by private tutors. He indulged his passion for the sporting life and, in addition to being a champion golfer and archer, Willy was also a fine shot and enjoyed big game hunting in the Rockies. He took up archery at the home of the Legh family, who had an estate close to the Dod's in Cheshire and were one of the greatest names in the sport. Neither William nor his sister Lottie took part in competitive archery until they moved from Cheshire, south to Newbury, Berkshire in 1906, where they joined the newly formed Welford Park Archery club. Within two and a half years, William became the 1908 Olympic Champion as he mastered the torrential rain on the first day of the competition held in London to hold a 10-point advantage. When the rain gave way to swirling wind conditions on the second day, he forged ahead and comfortably took gold with a margin of 47 points over Reginald Brooks-King. He went on to win the Grand National Archery title, effectively the British national title, in 1909 and 1911. After the fashionable Welford Park club was wound up in 1911, the Dod family quickly lost interest in the sport; in fact, the 1911 Grand National meeting was Willy's last Open archery competition. Having previously been a scratch golfer at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, he once again devoted time to the sport and in 1912 he reached the fourth round of the British amateur Championship.
After the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, William enlisted in the Sportsman's Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, serving as a Private in the trenches at the age of 47 for a brief time. He then successfully applied for a transfer to the Royal Navy, commissioned as a Volunteer Reserve in 1915, and spent a year as an administrative officer in France with the Royal Navy Air Service before being invalided back home to England. After the end of World War II Willy and his sister eventually settled in Devon, where they had bought a property at Westward Ho! just before the Second World War. Their lives centered around the golf club and in 1948 Willy was elected President of the Royal North Devon Club; the following year his sister Lottie was elected the Lady President. In 1950 Lottie returned to London and Willy joined her in her Earl’s Court flat two years later; neither ever married and they spent their last years together. In his eighties, Willy moved back to London and died in Earl's Court in 1954.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2026/07/merseyside-for-sport-john-ball.html
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