Richard Booker Bidencope was born in Hobart on 15 Jul 1868, the fourth of five children born to Joseph Bidencope and Emma Jane Booker. Richard was educated at Horton College, Ross, and the Hutchins School, Hobart. He married Mary Elizabeth Proctor in Launceston on 6 Dec 1893. He managed the tailoring department of his father's firm of J Bidencope & Son, tailors and hatters, in Launceston for 35 years. In 1900 he went to the Boer War in South Africa and served as a bodyguard to the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Kitchener. Richard died after a short illness at a private hospital in Hobart on 21 May 1942 aged 73. He was cremated at Cornelian Bay.
Irene Schaffer Aug 2005