Dudley Spurling (Spurling variant)
Sir Dudley Spurling (1913–1986) was a Bermudian lawyer, 1936 Olympic swimmer, 1934 Empire Games discus thrower and Speaker of the House of Assembly of Bermuda (1972–76). He was a founding partner of the law firm now called Appleby.
Sourcing: strong 6 reference · 2 news · 1 government · 1 official
Variant spelling: this person bears the related surname Spurling, not Spurlin.
Sir Arthur Dudley Spurling, CBE (9 November 1913 – 20 May 1986), was a Bermudian lawyer, politician and swimmer.[1] Olympedia gives his birthplace as St George's and his place of death as Hamilton.[2]
Family
Wikipedia names his parents as Sir Stanley Spurling (given there as "Salibury Stanley Spurling") and Lady Frances Ellen Spurling.[1] Sir Stanley Spurling (1879–1961) was a director of the Bank of Bermuda and a member of Bermuda's parliament.[3][4] According to The Royal Gazette, Sir Stanley was an uncle of the First World War flying ace Arthur Rowe Spurling, which made Dudley and Arthur first cousins.[4] In 1941 Dudley Spurling married Marian Taylor, whom Wikipedia describes as the daughter of Frank Gurr of St George's.[1]
Sport
Spurling swam for Bermuda in the men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.[1][2] His teammates were Edmund Cooper, Leonard Spence and John Young. Bermuda finished fifth of six in the first semifinal on 10 August 1936, in 10:50.5, and did not reach the final.[5] Olympedia ranks the team 14th overall. He was also entered in the men's 400 metres freestyle but did not start.[2]
He competed in track and field as well. Olympedia notes that he threw the discus at the 1934 British Empire Games. Wikipedia's results table for that event lists "A. Spurling" of Bermuda without a recorded place or distance.[2][6]
Law
Spurling was a Rhodes Scholar at Trinity College, Oxford, and a member of Lincoln's Inn. He practised in Bermuda as a barrister and served as a justice of the peace.[1] In 1938 he and Reginald Appleby, who had founded his own practice in 1898, merged their firms as Appleby & Spurling. In 1949 that firm merged with William Kempe's practice to form Appleby, Spurling & Kempe, and Spurling remained senior partner until 1981.[7] Wikipedia's biography, citing Who Was Who, dates his senior partnership from 1948 to 1981.[1] The firm later traded as Appleby Spurling Hunter and is now called Appleby. It is an offshore legal services provider with offices in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Hong Kong and elsewhere.[7]
Politics
Spurling sat in the House of Assembly for the United Bermuda Party.[1] The Parliament of Bermuda's list of Speakers shows him in the chair from 1972 to 1976, between Lt. Col. St. Jeffrey Astwood and Lawrence P. Gutteridge.[8]
Honours and legacy
He was appointed CBE and was later knighted as a Knight Bachelor.[1] When he died he was vice-chairman of the board of the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son. Since 1986 the bank has awarded an annual Sir A. Dudley Spurling Postgraduate Scholarship to a Bermudian student studying abroad. The bank's 2014 announcement described him as a sportsman and a past Speaker of the House of Assembly.[9] A Bermudian reggae artist, Giles Spurling, performs under the name "Sir Dudley".[1][10]
See also
- Notable Spurlins · People strong
An index of notable people surnamed Spurlin, with related Spurling-surname figures listed separately as variants. - The Spurlin name outside the United States · Culture strong
Spurlin is an overwhelmingly American surname today, with about 98% of bearers in the United States. The spelling is older than American settlement: English archives record Spurlins in Middlesex and Bristol between 1670 and 1717, and 18th-century leases name a field called 'Spurlins' in Hertfordshire. Outside the U.S. the related form Spurling is far more common. - Spurling (surname) · The Surname strong
Spurling is the fuller spelling from which Spurlin derives. Unlike Spurlin, it is well established in England, Australia and especially Bermuda as well as the United States. - Arthur Spurling (Spurling variant) · People strong
Arthur Rowe Spurling (1896–1984) was a Bermudian infantryman and airman who became a First World War flying ace with six credited victories. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross for a 1918 action in which he and his observer fought their way through a formation of about thirty German fighters. - Spurling athletes in Britain and Australia (variant spelling) · People strong
Sportsmen and sports figures with the related surname Spurling outside the United States. They include the England rugby international Aubrey Spurling (1856–1945), the Footscray footballers Bill Spurling (1907–1972) and Bob Spurling, the Australian lightweight rower Stephen Spurling and his mother, the Tasmanian rowing administrator Marj Spurling, and the English rugby hooker Scott Spurling. - Spurling public officials (variant spelling) · People strong
Minor public officials and candidates with the related surname Spurling, including a 19th-century Maine postmaster, a 2004 Democratic National Convention alternate, a North Carolina town councilman and school-board member, and a Georgia county coroner. - Spurlings of Bermuda (variant spelling) · Genealogy strong
In Bermuda the name is spelled Spurling, and Forebears ranks it the island's 202nd most common surname. Bermudian Spurlings have included the banker and parliamentarian Sir Stanley Spurling (1879–1961), his son Sir Dudley Spurling, Speaker of the House of Assembly, and his nephew Arthur Rowe Spurling, a First World War flying ace. - Spurlins in athletic halls of fame · Culture strong
A roundup of people surnamed Spurlin who have been inducted into college, county and high school athletic halls of fame, with notes on the state coaching halls and Olympic records that list no Spurlin. - Spurlins in public service · People strong
A roundup of people surnamed Spurlin (and, separately, Spurling) in government, politics, the military and the courts, from a 19th-century Indiana sheriff to a Kentucky utility commissioner and recent local candidates, with links to the individual articles. - Spurlins in sports · Culture strong
An overview of people surnamed Spurlin in sports: college and minor league baseball, college football, wrestling, softball and basketball coaching, with links to each article and a note of the professional leagues and databases searched.
References
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Dudley Spurling — Wikipedia — parents, marriage, career (citing Who Was Who), categories: Bermudian Rhodes Scholars, Trinity College Oxford, Lincoln's Inn, United Bermuda Party, Knights Bachelor Reference
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Dudley Spurling — Olympedia — full name, birth and death places; 1936 Olympic entries (400 m freestyle DNS; relay 14th); 1934 British Empire Games discus Reference
- ↑ Sir Stanley Spurling — National Portrait Gallery, London — "(1879-1961), Director, Bank of Bermuda"; read via Internet Archive snapshot, 2026-01-26 Reference
- ↑ ↑ Hero's medals up for auction — The Royal Gazette (8 August 2009) — Sir Stanley Spurling described as a parliamentarian and uncle of Arthur Rowe Spurling; read via Internet Archive snapshot, 2016-03-03 News
- ↑ Swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay — Wikipedia — Semifinal 1 results, 10 August 1936 Reference
- ↑ Athletics at the 1934 British Empire Games – Men's discus throw — Wikipedia — Lists A. Spurling (Bermuda) with place and mark unknown Reference
- ↑ ↑ Appleby (law firm) — Wikipedia — 1938 Appleby & Spurling merger, 1949 merger with William Kempe, Spurling senior partner until 1981, later names and offices Reference
- ↑ Speakers of the House of Assembly — Parliament of Bermuda — lists Sir Dudley Spurling, 1972–1976 Government
- ↑ Butterfield Names 2014 Scholarship Winners — Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (22 July 2014) — Sir A. Dudley Spurling Postgraduate Scholarship, offered annually since 1986; read via Internet Archive snapshot, 2017-11-09 Official
- ↑ New single celebrates Bermuda culture — The Royal Gazette (22 August 2016) — reggae artist Giles "Sir Dudley" Spurling News
Last reviewed 2026-09-24.