Kathleen Eleanora Lidderdale (6 September 1894 – 29 January 1973) was an English international

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player.

Personal life

Kathleen Lidderdale was born 6 September 1894 in Henley, Oxfordshire. Her father, James Lidderdale, was a local doctor in the Cheltenham area and a former mayor of Henley. She had four brothers and one sister. She married Captain Allman Vizer Bridge on 20 October 1924 in the Parish Church, Prestbury.

Hockey career

Kathleen Lidderdale began her international hockey career in 1910 when playing for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for the first time aged 16. The previous year she began playing for her local county team,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. Lidderdale played at centre forward and was considered the best female player in that position at the time. A

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correspondent wrote when reporting on a match: "She was certainly the best and most finished player of either side, ard must be just as superior to any lady centre forward as S. H. Snoveller is superior to any man in that position." She was a prolific goal scorer: In 1919 she scored all nine goals against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and all six against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. In 1923 she was made England captain. Lidderdale also released a book in 1923 called "Hockey for Girls and Women" published by G Bell and Sons. Kathleen's sister Margaret also played hockey for Gloucestershire.

Tennis career

Lidderdale competed in seven

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women's singles tournaments between

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and

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. She reached the third round of the 1923 tournament. In

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, she came second in the women's doubles tournament with Mary McIquham; the pair lost to Suzanne Lenglen and

Elizabeth Ryan Elizabeth Montague Ryan (February 5, 1892 – July 6, 1979) was an American tennis player who was born in Anaheim, California, but lived most of her adult life in the United Kingdom. Ryan won 26 Grand Slam titles, 19 in women's doubles and mi ...

References

British female tennis players Tennis people from Gloucestershire 1894 births 1973 deaths English female field hockey players {{UK-tennis-bio-stub