Reginald Walter Bonham
| Reginald Bonham | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Reginald Walter Bonham |
| Country |
 England
|
| Born | 31 January 1906 St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Died | 16 March 1984 (aged 78) Worcester, England |
Reginald Walter Bonham (31 January 1906 – 16 March 1984) was a blind chess player from St. Neots, England known for his achievements in both blind and sighted chess. After founding the International Braille Chess Association in 1951, he became the Blind World Chess Champion in 1958 and the Correspondence Blind World Champion in 1957, 1959, 1961, 1964 (jointly) and 1966. He died in Worcester, England at the age of 78.
Reginald Bonham was born in St. Neots, England, 1906 to a family of butchers. Like others in his family, Bonham was born visually impaired, and was sent to enter Worcester College for the Blind at age 16. During 1922-1925 at Worcester, he revealed a talent for both rowing and chess, which he learned in 1922. In 1926, he attended St Catherine's College, Oxford where he won the Oxford sighted chess championship in 1929, as well as made the final trials for the Oxford rowing team.
In 1929, Bonham returned to the Worcester College for the Blind as a teacher. He taught mathematics and braille as well as coached rowing, amateur drama, bridge, and chess. "Bon", as he was known by staff, headed four separate chess teams in the local and county leagues, of which all won multiple championships. In his later years, one of his students was Peter White, who later became a prominent radio broadcaster. Bonham is described in detail in White's 1999 autobiography, See It My Way. Bonham taught at Worcester until he retired in 1970.
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