There was a William Hodgkinson, secretary of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Navigation who had served 42 years at the company by 1870. His father took part in the construction of the canal, started in 1790.
HR Hodgkinson may be the well-known Birmingham solicitor connected with the firm Pinsent and Co. until he retired around 1937, and was a prominent member of the Birmingham Archaeological Society. He published, amongst other books, “Notes on the History of Midland Waterways” in 1913.