The Okanagan's Own Pioneer Photographer
Born to George and Sarah Hudson, in 1885, George Henry Ernest "Huddy" Hudson was the youngest born to the wealthy English family. Growing up in Scarborough, Hudson spent his school years at a boarding school, alongside his seven siblings.
As his father and uncles were all brewers, Huddy was expected to follow this path. Therefore, after his time at college, he began training as a brewery assistant. However, rather than carrying on with his studies, in 1906, Hudson embarked on the long journey from Liverpool to British Columbia.
The now twenty-one year old, arrived in Penticton spring of that same year. With his stock in trade being one camera and some film, purchased from A.D Worgan of Aberdeen Studios, and from Mr. Fraser-Campbell of Penticton.
Hudson was welcomed by pioneer photographer C.W. Holliday of Armstrong, acquaintance of Mr. Worgan, who soon got him a job as a photographer for the Canadian Pacific Railway in Okanagan Landing. Here, he documented the development of transportation in the Okanagan Valley, capturing the importance of the railway and steamships for day to day life.
By 1907, Hudson made the move to Kelowna, opening his first photography studio, producing commercial photographs under the name G.H.E Hudson. By this time, Huddy had made quite a name for himself, known for driving his beloved McLaughlin-Buick automobile from town to town.
In the succeeding years, Hudson's business grew as he worked across multiple studios and through several partnerships, including with James Edmonds, Kenneth M. Chadwick and Lumb Stocks.
In 1909, Hudson was accompanied in Kelowna by his sister, Grace Hudson, who immigrated to Canada to be with him. Grace, an artist herself, later married photographer Harold Arthur Willis, in 1913. By this time, Hudson owned the largest business of its kind in the Okanagan Valley, and, according to an Okanagan News publishing from 1912, had "some $1700 invested in cameras and lenses alone."
G.H.E Hudson's portfolio included everything from portraits, orchards, local celebrations and events, to military activities, CPR and Kettle Valley Railway operations, important buildings, and of course, his specialty panoramas of the Valley. Hudson was commissioned across many fields, producing photographs for postcards, pictorial settlement brochures, family portraits, and other publishing's.
In 1912, Hudson and H.H Mcleay , of the Mcleay Brothers development company, were sponsored by the Central Okanagan Land Co., to travel across England promoting settlement to the valley. There, Hudson's photographs were used in a traveling "magic lantern show," an early type of cinema where images are projected from glass plates to screens, as well as in advertisements and newspaper publishing's across much of the country.
As WWI broke out across Europe, Hudson enlisted in Vernon and became part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1917. Much of his time overseas was spent in England, photographing the conflict for the Canada War Records Office, created in 1916 to keep record of Canada's role in the war effort. George Hudson then spent December 1918 to March 1919 serving in France.
While deployed, Hudson's studio was looked after by well known photographer Lumb Stocks and was rebranded to "Hudson-Stocks & Co." Following his discharge from the war in 1919, there is no evidence that "Harry" Hudson, as he was then known, ever returned to Canada. Hudson cut ties with the Okanagan when he asked Stocks to buy out his partnership of the studio. Stocks would then acquire both Hudson and Chadwick's share of the business and move forward as an independent photographer. The studio was operated by the Stocks family until 1979.
And while much of his life after the war remains quite a mystery, there are some traces of studios and photographs linked to Hudson through the 1920s, as well as a 1939 directory listing.
George Henry Ernest Hudson passed away in his hometown of Scarborough, on August 30th, 1958. Harold and Grace (Hudson) Willis remained in Kelowna, until their deaths in 1965 and 1968.
Many thanks to Mary Read for the dedication she put into piecing together George Hudson's life story. You can find her own report here.
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