Born in York, Hodgson trained as a tailor, becoming a foreman cutter in clothing wholesale.
He moved to Reading in the 1890s, joining the Social Democratic Federation, and then its successor, the British Socialist Party.
He was part of the majority in the party which opposed World War I, and in 1918, he was elected to its executive.
Hodgson was part of the Joint Provisional Committee which organised the formation, and he then served as the party's first treasurer, and as a member of the executive.
This led him to leave the CPGB in 1922, change his name to Edwin Player, and become the manager of a clothing company.