By Terence Reese

BM September 1975

It is sometimes said of a woman that when she enters a room she lightens it up.  Of a man, rarely; but Leslie Dodds was like that; wherever he played, everyone responded to the charming smile, the courtesy, the modesty, so rare in a great player.  Dodds and Kosky, Dodds and Bach, Dodds and Rayne, Dodds and Konstam - those were great partnerships and great days.

A powerful man, keen golfer, very successful in business, with a beautiful wife, Bijoli, he suddenly had a dreadful stroke, which left him almost bedridden and dependent on a manservant.  He endured that state for nearly fifteen years, always the same Leslie, maintaining his interest in bridge and sometimes writing letters to the press on matters he considered important.