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Harold  FRANKLIN

Harold Franklin nacque a Leeds nel 1915 si spense ne 1998, dopo una lungo ricovero conseguente ad un attacco cardiaco maturato due anni prima.

 Laureato in legge, Harold è stata una delle più eminente personalità nel campo della Direzione dei Tornei sia in Gran Bretagna che in campo internazionale.

 Mai sposato, dopo aver servito prima nell'Artiglieria e poi nella Marina, nell'immediato dopoguerra Harold colse le sue affermazioni più prestigiose come giocatore vincendo due volte la Gold Cup e difendendo i colori britannici ai Campionati Europei del 1952 e del 1956 assieme al suo partner di allora Louis Tarlo.

 Più tardi Franklin ha capitanato più volte varie Squadre britanniche, portando alla vittoria quella femminile nelle Olimpiadi del 1964 e ai Campionati Europei del 1963 e del 1966.

 Per molti anni è stato corrispondente dello Yorkshire Post ed Editore della rivista della Lega Inglese, ha organizzato il primo Corso Europeo per Direttori di Torneo ed ha avuto l'idea di introdurre il video rama nei Campionati di Bridge.

 Infine, Harold, che è anche ricordato per essere stato il fondatore del famoso Sunday Times Pairs (oggi trofeo MacCallan), fa parte dei pochi eletti alla "Hall of Fame" del bridge britannico.

  Obituary from IBPA Bulletin

 Harold Franklin, who died peacefully on 23rd December aged 83, was for two decades the  senior figure in the direction of bridge tournaments in England, the European Bridge League and the World Bridge Federation.

From the mid-sixties to the mid-eighties most major tournaments were under his energetic direction.

He was born in Leeds in 1915, and read Modern Languages at Leeds University which he represented at football and boxing. He was destined for a legal career when war intervened and he joined the army. He was commissioned in the artillery in 1941, and, joining the Maritime RA, served on two ships which were torpedoed, before being posted to India.

He learned bridge in 1938 and after the war had considerable success at national level, winning the British championships (the Gold Cup) twice.

A fiery temperament led to the break-up of his partnership with Bobbie Mercado whilst competing in the British Trials, but he returned to represent Britain in the European Championships of 1952 and 1956 with Louis Tarlo.

In later years he was non-playing captain of many British teams including the Ladies team which won the World Olympiad in 1964 and the European Championships in 1963 and 1966.

He was bridge correspondent of the Yorkshire Post, and Editor of the English Bridge Union magazine from its start in 1966 until 1984. He became Chief Tournament Director for England, and later both the European Bridge League and World Bridge Federation with responsibility for the world championships for ten years, retiring in 1985.

In his retirement he organized bridge weekends for Grand Metropolitan and Hilton Hotels.

He suffered a serious heart attack in 1991 and from 1993 required nursing care.

Franklin never married.

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