Personal Life
In October 1899, Rhodes, aged 22, married Sarah Elizabeth Stancliffe, who lived in Kirkheaton and was two years his senior. They lived in a farmhouse, shared with other people, at Bog Hall near Kirkheaton. On 25 August 1902 his wife gave birth to a daughter, their only child. Rhodes found Yorkshire's dealings with money to be ungenerous; following his benefit in 1911 Yorkshire, as was their custom, paid only one-third of the money to Rhodes and kept back the rest to invest on his behalf, only paying out the interest. Rhodes considered this to be unfair; however, he was able to use the money to build a stone house at Marsh, Huddersfield, which his family moved into in the autumn of 1912. He lived there until 1956.
From around 1936, Rhodes's sight began to fail, and on the outbreak of war in 1939 he was unable to take up a wartime job. Eventually a specialist diagnosed glaucoma, but at that stage nothing could be done. Rhodes was still able to see well enough to watch cricket and play golf, although by 1946 he was unable to read a newspaper. Another specialist was consulted in 1951 and an operation performed, but by 1952 Rhodes was completely blind. The build-up of pain led to the removal of his left eyeball in 1958. In 1950, Sarah Rhodes suffered a heart attack, which limited the help she could give to her husband; in 1954 she died a few months before her 80th birthday. Rhodes then sold his house at Marsh and moved in with his daughter and her husband, with whom he later moved to Bournemouth. He continued to attend cricket matches where he was able to follow the play despite his blindness, and was frequently sought out by cricketers and asked for his advice or opinion. Rhodes was given honorary life membership of Yorkshire in 1946, and of the MCC in 1949. When given membership of the MCC, along with other old professionals, Rhodes reacted characteristically; rather than showing pleasure, he responded, "I don't rightly know what it means yet." He died in 1973, aged 95.
Read more about this topic: Wilfred Rhodes
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