My Father's Mystery

[Dundee10]

Mr. and Mrs. B. G. Lester, of Binnawee, have received a cable from Leslie Holton, who was a prisoner of war in Burma for over two years, that he had arrived in India. Leslie was employed by Mr.and Mrs. Lester for 12 years prior to enlisting.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/156436101

That means he was at Binnawee from 1928 and he wouldn't have been eligible to vote until 1927 so you may find it difficult to establish where he was working between 1925 and 1928.

[Dundee10]

Apparently a Mr John George Banfield (born 11 July 1877 Wrotham Kent) was actually his father as he gave Leslie's mother all of his possessions when he passed away 7 July 1945.

I think you might find that this was a late life relationship as they were living together in 1939 (BUNFIELD/HOLTON).

[goldmercedes]

Thank you, thank you Dundee10!! I am agog with the amazingly helpful replies I am already receiving concerning my father's mystery life. Thanks again. goldmercedes.

[goldmercedes]

Thank you Megan. I am astounded by the multiple helpful replies and links I am receiving. It's amazing...I'm going to need some time to take in all of this and work through the links and so on. Thanks again, goldmeredes

[goldmercedes]

Thank you janbooth! I am thrilled with the speed and number of posts you and your group have posted. I need to go through a lot of research now and put on paper things I am already learning about Leslie's mystery years. Thanks again, goldmercedes.

[goldmercedes]

Hi Peter, and thanks again! Leslie's Birth Certificate obtained by Leslie's niece in 1976 and then has no details of birth father or mother, only his name Leslie John Gordon Holton, Boy. Also on certificate: 12th January 2006, Romney Marsh, New Romney, registration District of Shepway. To explain my reasons for search: I am curious about what made this man have an apparent black hole of memory concerning his youth and his shipment to Australia and then the next few years. Is there another wife? And children? Did he do something shameful? Was it the years of working on the Death Railway that caused at least some of the lack of memory? One cousin who recently passed away in Snodland, Kent said he was a womaniser. Joan's sister Joyce (lived in Australia but now deceased ) said it was possible he impregnated his sister Lillian- she was sent to Scotland, him to Queensland. Barnardos has no record of him at all.

[goldmercedes]

Hi to Everyone. And thanks for your ideas and time and research. I have just trawled through a pile of handwritten letters from Leslie to his granddaughter who was living for a brief period in London. He says that his father was Henry Joseph Holton, a professional soldier who died when Leslie was very young. But I remember clearly my cousins telling me that he was raised by a Mr Banfield who may have been his actual father. Leslie's mother's name was Alice Harriet Kate Barnes according to Leslie's writing, and she came to England from New Zealand. Interesting that Cousin Joyce (passed away) also had heard that Leslie had travelled to New Zealand and sold property there in the Wanganui area that was in the family name of his mother, Barnes. Once again thank you to all of you for your help.

[goldmercedes]

Leslie's mother was Alice Harriet Kate Barnes, born in Wellington New Zealand on July 12th 1875. Her birth mother's name was formerly Gilbert. Note the word formerly not Nee or maiden name. Leslie seems to have had immense times of trouble, like being taken prisoner for example, and his memory was muddled not only in those situations but on and off over the years. His life was quite traumatic for the first 40 years until he married Emily Catherine Quinlan (Nee Kelly) in Sydney in 1946 and settled into a steady job and family. His children would hear his screams in horrific nightmares about his treatment by the Japanese in Singapore and on the Death Railway in Burma and Thailand. Most questions about any part of history were met with anger and apparently lies or perhaps mistaken information. Due to lying about his age he did not retire until he was 72 years old when his records showed he was 65 and eligible for the aged pension. He had been receiving a TPI (Totally Permanently Incapacitated) army pension from 1946 to his death and this is likely to have been due to psychological damage as prisoner of war as well as physical mistreatment. All of his family are Anglican and nobody has an answer to why he listed himself as Catholic. Why change his name by omitting 2nd 3rd and 4th Christian Names in some situations? Why create a new Christian name Dawson around 1930? Why say born in Ireland when born in Kent? Why list his sister (in Edinburgh)as next of kin when his mother was alive and well in Kent? Why change his birth date on most documents from 1906 to 1913?And now from the data today I have learnt there may be a new father in a Mr Smith on census records in 1911. Wow!

[Lesley Robertson]

Since FreeBMD (the index to BMD certificates) gives him 2 entries, in your place, I'd get the one where his surname is given as Smith - it may be due to an amendation..

[Peter Goodey]

Leslie's Birth Certificate obtained by Leslie's niece in 1976 and then has no details of birth father or mother, only his name Leslie John Gordon Holton, Boy. Also on certificate: 12th January 2006, Romney Marsh, New Romney, registration District of Shepway

That doesn’t sound right. I think you may have a short birth certificate there. This is of no genealogical use.

You need a copy of the full birth certificate.

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ce...es/default.asp