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Record #18335
Name :
: George Marlow LEESON (1913 - 1969)


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 4 Nov 1913

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 14 Sep 1969
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Leamington, Warwickshire
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 4 May 1930
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Doric

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Salvation Army
NotesBorn:
Father:
Mother:

04 November 1913 in Leamington, WAR
Harvey George LEESON
Lizzie BONEHAM


Married:
Spouse:

04 July 1959 in Brockville, Ontario, Canada
Viola May Ferguson, n?e Guild

Died:

14 September 1969, Brockville, Ontario, Canada

Early Years

George Marlow Leeson was born on the 04 November 1913 at 36 Princes Street, Leamington in Warwickshire. He was the third child and first boy of Harvey George Leeson and his wife Lizzie. Marlow was his paternal grandmother?s maiden name. When he was still a baby, George?s father went away to fight in WW1. George must have been spoiled rotten by his mother and two sisters and was a particular favourite of his sister Maud. She later annotated the only photograph I have of him ?My Darling Brother?. I have always interpreted this as an image of a rather shy and sensitive man. Subsequent research has tended to confirm my opinion.

The disruption to George?s life when his father returned from the war can only be imagined. After many years of female cosseting heaven only knows what he made of his battle weary father. George also ceased to be the baby of the family. Three more siblings were born during the next five years. George?s world was further disrupted when the family moved away from family and friends to 21 Winifred Street, Dowlais, near to the northern part of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.

George lost his mother to tuberculosis when he was just twelve years old, with his father also succumbing to the disease two years later. By then the family had been in receipt of parish relief for some time. For a while older sisters Maud and Lucy tried to keep the family together. George?s army record confirms that he was brought up by his older sisters after his parents died. In 1930, perhaps due to changes in the Poor Law, the Guardians of the Merthyr Tydfil Poor Law Union sent the three youngest children to the orphanage. The older three children were expected to fend for themselves.

George opted to become one of the British Home Children and to migrate to Canada. Sadly he seems to have little memory of his parents, and was not able remember their correct names for entry onto his marriage certificate in later years. His wife said that she knew little of his early childhood as he never talked about it or his family. Perhaps the memories were just too painful?

[Page Index]

British Home Child

George set sail for Canada from Liverpool on the S.S. Doric on the 25th April 1930 and arrived in Quebec on the 04 May 1930. George was one of a party of at least 30 boys between the ages of 14 and 18 whose deposit for the third-class passage of ?11-10s-0d was paid for by The Salvation Army. The Sailing Sheet shows that George was number LN 7456 on The Salvation Army Register. He was originally mis-recorded as Geo. M. GEESON. George?s religion is recorded as Congregationalist. A number of other expenses are listed, including a balance of 7s 4d for the ocean passage, rail fare in England of ?1-4s-9d, presumably to get him to Liverpool, 12s-6d for ?expenses prior to sailing?, 7s-6d for insuring his luggage and ?1-1s-3d for the rail fare to Smiths Falls. Two other items are also listed but not explained, $8.70 (?1-16s-3d) on order number H2078 and $2.40 (10s) on order number H2079. Could this have been for the purchase of clothing suitable for farm work

The Passenger List shows that he was to be transferred to the Salvation Army Receiving Centre at ?Moorside?, 114 Beckwith Street, Smiths Falls, Ontario. An extract from ?The War Cry? of 1924 explains the rationale behind The Army?s Reception Homes, including the one at Smiths Falls. It also explains how the boys were expected to pay back part of the cost of migration out of their wages, with the money to be used to pay for other boys to come out to Canada.

George?s guardian in the UK is listed as a Mr. Albert Birchill of 1 Fist Tydfil Avenue, Northern Tydfil [Sic]. I can only presume that George had a good West Midlands accent that made ?first? sound like ?fist?! I have no idea who the mysterious Mr. Birchill is, he certainly wasn?t a relative. Perhaps he fostered children for the Merthyr Poor Law Union?



British Home Children were expected to act as cheap labour on Canadian farms and received training from the Salvation Army at Hadleigh Farm in England before departure. A further extract from ?The War Cry? of 1929 explains the system for placing boys with farmers and also explains how The Army invested most of the boys? wages for them. George?s Juvenile Inspection Report shows that he was paid $10 per month. Perhaps this lack of money goes some way to explaining why so few of the boys left their employers or returned home?

The Salvation army visited George on 04 June 1930 at the farm of James Rollins in R.R.3 Madoc, of Hastings County in Ontario. Their record shows that ?Commander Hardy informs lad getting along well, happy in his work [illegible] speaks well of him?. A different (government?) inspector visited him on the 02 August 1930 and Commander Hardy visited again on 07 October 1930 but made no further comment on the records.

The article in ?The War Cry? suggests that many boys were so happy that they stayed in their initial placement for many years. George must have been an exception. By 01 October 1931 he had moved to the farm of Fred Cowdy at Mallorytown, Leeds County. He finished work there on the 5th October 1931 and was described as ?An A.1 lad?. His final visitation was at John (Jos) Bradley?s Farm in R.R.1 Lyn on November 1932. The Salvation Army records suggest that George left their care on or about 20 July 1933. He continued working as a farm hand until 1940, though the farm in Lyn seems to have changed hands. His army service records give his employers name prior to enlistment as Mr Elton King.

George did not have much of an education. His formal schooling ended when he left Wales at the equivalent of today?s grade 9. However, he did want to improve himself, perhaps in an attempt to escape the drudgery of menial farm work. In 1938 George spent 9 months studying ?Electrical Refrigeration Mechanics? via a correspondence course with a school in Chicago, USA. He did not complete the course.

[Page Index]

World War 2

Canada entered World War 2 on 10 September 1939, after the passenger liner ?Athenia? was torpedoed. Prime Minster, William Lyon MacKenzie King pledged not to institute conscription. The first convoy of merchant ships sailed for Britain a few days later and the first soldiers arrived that November, though the main body of troops did not arrive until December. December also saw the inauguration of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train pilots and aircrew in Canada, away from the fighting. Despite the Prime Minister?s pledge, conscription was authorized later.

For several years George had managed to keep in touch with his family back in the UK. One letter from George remains. It is dated and postmarked 20th September 1940 and was sent from 415 Bartlett Avenue, Toronto, Ontario and addressed to Miss Maud Leeson, City of London Hospital, Stone, Dartford, Kent, England. The letter suggests that he had recently completed his education. His Soldiers Qualification Card shows that he had successfully taken a 3 month course in ?Machine Shop Practice? in 1940. The Salvation Army in Canada told me that they would not have sponsored his education, he would have had to pay for that himself. Perhaps using the money from his wages that The Salvation Army had invested for him?

Dear Sis,

I received your letter OK glad to hear that everybody is fine, the papers are still coming through. Well Sis I have finished my schooling and am now out looking for work, if I don't soon get a job I intend to join the army for active service although there is not much of a soldier about me.

The first batch of conscripts were called up this week, but I was not included, being a little over age but my turn will come.

It is hard for me to think of anything else but the war, you over there are really showing the world what the British people are made of, but cheer up for remember there will always be an England. The air training scheme is sure travelling along, a year ago we just seen an odd plane flying around but today they are flying around in dozens and in a years time they will be as thick as flies. The boys of the Air Force will soon make a reck [sic] out of old Hitler if they keep up their hot pace, the Navy to is doing some wonderful work, the army to has shown what it is made of at Dunkirk and the time will come when they will be giving the big bad wolf a taste of his own medicine.

I like Toronto fine, it seems more like home here than anywhere I have been yet, there are football games and cricket games going on here also baseball games which I am not very much interested in. The people I am boarding with are English, comes from London. I hope I can get work here in Toronto so that I can stay with them, they enjoy reading the Sunday Express, and I really enjoy their Sunday dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, but that makes me hungry so I won't write anything more about that.

I received a letter from Ron a while ago and have not answered it yet so after I finish with this one I will drop him a line. Well Sis, I will be closing now hoping that this will find you all safe and sound. I remain your ever loving Brother George xxxx"
The letter shows his intention to join the army if he cannot find work in Toronto. Toronto was a centre for war industries, including the construction of ships and planes, weapons, and munitions. Factories supported the war effort by holding Victory Bond rallies, donating land for productive gardens and by holding morale building contests such as beauty pageants.




Soldering & Assembly at the De Havilland factory in Toronto
Pictures from the City of Toronto Archives

George found a job making aircraft for De Havilland, where he was paid CA$33 per week to fit small parts and perform some bench work. De Havilland had grown quickly during the war. Its Downsview site had grown from just 35 workers in 1939 to over 7,000 by 1945. Between them they were producing between one and half to three aircraft each day. After several months of working for the company, his army Occupational History Form suggests he was given an apprenticeship. He did not complete it. After just a year at De Havilland, he returned to the farm in Lyn in 1941. There he was paid CA$15 per week to work as a hired help.

Canada took part in major battles in the Far East during 1941 and 1942. Much of 1943 saw Canadian troops fighting to conquer Sicily and Italy. George was called up and enlisted at Kingston, Ontario on the 14th May 1943, service number C121153. His attestation papers show that he was photographed and fingerprinted as part of the enrolment process. He was described as a ?pleasant? and ?amiable? and ?made a favourable impression upon interviewer? in his Personnel Selection Record. After his initial interviews he was kept waiting until the 28th May. George wished to become a medical orderly and was recommended for the post by the recruiting officer. He was described as, ?a pleasant, mature man - quiet & dependable. Anxious to serve in medical corps?. However, George wound up as a Rifleman in the Canadian Infantry Corps.

Like all the Leesons, George was quite short, being just 5 feet 6 inches tall. He was also slightly built, weighing just 140 lbs. But his records show that he was medically fit, his eyesight and hearing were normal and he was right-handed. He had dark brown hair like his sisters Maud and Joan, with a medium complexion. His Soldiers Qualification Card states that he had hazel eyes but his Discharge Certificate say they were grey! Perhaps we share the same eye colour i.e. a mixture of blue, grey, green and hazel whose dominant colour appears to change according to the ambient light conditions.

He scored a total on 31 marks on the 8 aptitude tests he was given, good enough for a ?C? grade. Despite his lack of education, George had several skills. He was not only able to drive a tractor or a light truck, he could also handle a team of horses. In his spare time he liked reading, especially fiction and magazines and enjoyed handicrafts, especially woodworking. He also played soccer and he could skate. By now he was a member of the Church of England, though it is not known if he was a regular church attendee. In spite of still being in touch with his family in England he gave his next of kin as his previous employer, Mr. Elton King.

George undertook Basic Training with the 32 C.A.B.T.C. from the 29th May until the 27th July. George was sent from Kingston to Peterborough, Ontario on the 3rd June. Captain Ryan described him on the Personnel Selection record as ?... pleasant, mature, with the open and ingenuous manner of one who has spent his life quietly on the farm. He is rapidly adjusting himself to army life and will make a steady, reliable soldier.? One can only imagine what such a quiet and innocent man went through on joining the army.

George underwent further training with the Canadian Infantry Corps from 30th July to 2nd October at Camp Borden Military Camp. He trained in Battle Drill with the Infantry Training Battalion from the 3rd October to the 5th November, though he was granted two weeks leave from the 06 October. Sadly, by the 26 October George?s medical rating had fallen from A-1 down to B i.e. fit for base or garrison service at home or abroad. A period of waiting in the Transit Camp followed. George embarked for England on the 15th December 1943 with the 5th C.I.R.U. (Canadian Infantry Rifle Unit?), arriving on the 21 December. He must have had very mixed emotions on returning to his homeland after 13 years absence, especially under such circumstances.

George appears to have remained in England for several months, although he was transferred more than once from the 5th to the 6th C.I.R.U. and back. In May of 1944 he transferred to H.Q.1 of the Canadian Army., the 11th Battalion. Canada was heavily involved in the D-Day invasion of France on 06 June 1944 but George did not embark for France until the 23 July 1944, arriving on the 25th. Germany surrendered to the allies on 07 May 1945. Apart from 9 days paid leave in England beginning on the 02 April 1945 he remained in Europe throughout this time. His unit was sent to the Netherlands on 30 July 1945. He had a further period of leave in the UK for 11 days from 20th August 1945 before returning to Holland. He finally left continental Europe on 23 December 1945 arriving in the UK on the 24th, just in time for Christmas and returned to Canada on 15th January 1946.

Maud told me that her last memory of George was just before he sailed back to Canada. She said he was accompanied by a Belgian girl and I got the feeling that she did not entirely approve! Form W.D/ 12 from the Department of Veterans Affairs states that he was indeed contemplating marriage at this time. Sadly, although George wrote to Maud on his return, by the time she replied he had moved on from the address he gave. She too had moved and so they lost contact It would also seem that he lost contact with the rest of the family in the UK. When he was admitted to hospital in 1969 the hospital was told that ?he had not been in touch with his siblings since he left England in 1931 (sic)?.

More than a million Canadians served in the armed forces during the war. The Department of Veteran Affairs was set up in 1944 to assist them make the transition back into civilian life. Transport was in short supply, so the return home was based on a points system, with points given according to length of service, arena of service and marital status. Once in Canada, each soldier received 30 days leave, followed by discharge from the service. Each veteran was given CA$100 to buy new clothes and were paid a gratuity of CA$7.50 for each 30 days service, with an additional 25 cents for each day overseas, and one week?s pay for each six months service outside of Canada. George was in the army for 34 months, of which 25 were spent in the UK or North West Europe.

Private, C121153 was demobilized on 09 March 1946. He received his Discharge Certificate, a War Service Badge ?General Service Class? #528076, a Priority Suit Purchase certificate and an application for a civilian ration book. The certificate shows that he managed to pass through the war without acquiring any distinguishing marks or scars. Form W.D.12, dated 08 March 1946, explains that while George was fully trained as a rifleman, he spent most of the war on general duties. George had also spent 12 months of his 34 months service employed as a cook?s helper, so it was suggested to him that he consider taking up employment as a cook?s helper in a lumber camp! as an alternative to their main recommendation of a return to farming. George also seems to have had some idea of turning his love of woodworking into a career by becoming a carpenter.

George seems to have eventually accepted that he would have to return to farm work, though he aspired to owning his own dairy farm. By law he had to be given his old job back. The Veteran?s Land Act (VLA) was set up to help veterans buy land for homes and businesses. The counsellor who interviewed him wrote:

?Now 33 years of age, Leeson is a dependable worker whose long experience as a farm labourer indicates that he will adjust best to this type of work in the future. ... [He] is now convinced that he is best suited to farming. While he plans to return to work for his former employer for the present ... [he is] interested in full time farming with V.L.A. assistance. His long experience in mixed farming suggests that this project would be feasible, providing other factors at the time of his application are favourable.?
George qualified for five medals in total [?]. He was awarded the ?1939-1954 Star? and the ?France & Germany Star? in August of 1945. The ?1939-1945 Star? was awarded to those who gave 6 months service on active operations. The ?France and Germany Star? was awarded to those with 1+ day of service in France, Belgium, Holland or Germany between 06 June 1944 (D-day) and 08 May 1945. He was also awarded the ?Canadian Volunteer Service Medal? (CVSM) on 01 February 1946. The CVSM was given to those with 18 months of voluntary service between 03 September 1939 and 01 Mar 1947. A clasp was given when at least 60 days of that service was outside of Canada. In addition he was awarded the ?Defence Medal?, given for 6 months service in Britain between 03 September 1939 to 08 May 1945, and ?The War Medal 1939-1945?, which was given to all full time service personnel who served at least 28 days between 03 September 1939 and 02 September 1945. All five medals and clasp were sent to him on the 17 October 1949.

[Page Index]

Later Life

George?s initial hopes for an immediate marriage after the war seem to have petered out and he returned to farming. In 1953 he started work a clerk receiver at J.C. Johnston Co., a shoe company, in Brockville, Ontario. So George finally seems to have escaped from farming. Perhaps he wasn?t given a VLA grant to buy his own farm or decided not to apply? He was later described as a reliable and devoted employee.

It was probably while he was at Johnston?s that he met Viola May Ferguson, a widow, n?e Guild, who was also working there as a typist. They married on 04 July 1959, when he was 43 and his bride 38. George was living at 246 King Street West (marked on the map below) in the town of Brockville, Ontario. Viola had been born and bred in Mallorytown. The marriage took place by Licence at the United Church at 21 Pine Street, Brockville and was witnessed by Stanley Guild and his wife Betty Stanley Guild.



Viola described the marriage as being very happy. She said he was good husband, easy going and extremely good to his stepson. She described George as having a, ?Very quiet disposition. He was very easy to please, tranquil and a very sensitive man. He was always well mannered, polite and even-tempered.? He had no outside interests and enjoyed staying at home. Perhaps the first really stable family life he?d ever enjoyed? She said he had always lived a quiet life and had been a good living man who abstained from alcohol. However, he enjoyed playing cards, much like his sister Maud - perhaps she taught him to play? He no longer played sports but enjoyed watching them on T.V.

In late 1968 / early ?69 George caught and recovered from the Hong Kong flu. However, his health continued to cause problems during that year and on 20 May he went on sick leave. He was admitted to Brockville General Hospital where a benign growth was removed. He made a good recovery and returned home on the 25th June. Sometime after this his family noticed a sudden and dramatic deterioration in his condition. He had trouble talking, his speech became slow and slurred, although he could understand what was said to him perfectly well. He also suffered from a weakness and paralysis down his right side and could no longer walk. In addition, he suffered a large and serious burn to his back from using a heating pad at home. After being assessed by his own physician on the 22 July 1969, he was admitted to Brockville Psychiatric Hospital on the 25th.

George was described as being clean and well nourished on admission, but was showing obvious signs of ageing. His hair was grey and receding, and although he had his own teeth still, they were in only fair condition. He also suffered from stiffness in his neck and eczema on his left leg, and x-rays suggested that he may have suffered from T.B. at some time. George was somewhat bewildered on his admission to hospital and wasn?t totally sure why he?d been admitted. No doubt he also wondered why he was in the psychiatric hospital and not the general one. He was obviously expected to be in hospital for quite some while. The lengthy list of possessions he took with him included 3 pairs of pyjamas, 3 pairs of trousers and 4 shirts. He underwent various tests and assessments and was finally diagnosed as having suffered a stroke.

By the beginning of August George was able to move around the ward in a wheelchair, and his doctors recommended that he begin to take a short walk once a day. Although he was having trouble eating a normal diet and was on soft, minced foods, he appeared to be improving. Then his condition began to deteriorate around the 26 August. By 05 September he was acutely ill with a chest infection and was transferred to a ward where he could be nursed more intensively. In spite of treatment with antibiotics, by the 12 September George was semi-comatose and in an oxygen tent. He had a high fever of over 105 deg. F.

Like his brother Ron, George died young. He ceased to breathe at 4:35 p.m. on the 14 September 1969.and was pronounced dead ten minutes later. He was just 55 years old. The cause of death was recorded as Bronchopneumonia (7 days) and Cerebral Arteriosclerosis (3 months). The funeral took place on the 16 September 1969 and George was buried at Mallorytown Cemetery, Leeds County, Ontario. He was joined by his wife Viola after her death in 1995. 
ContributorsCreated : 2012-11-24 11:24:12 / From original database

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IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
18335 LEESON, George Marlow1913ENG,    , Leamington, Warwickshire May 1930 : Doric CAN Salvation Army