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Record #23665
Name :
: Leslie MAIR (1909 - 1992)
  aka : Les


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 7 Feb 1909

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 8 Jun 1992   Notes : Old age/hear failure
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, , London
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada, Regina
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 15 Apr 1923
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Melita

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
: Barnardo's

Agency
: Barnardos
NotesLes and his brother, Bill, were surrendered to Barnardo's by their mother. Later, their sister, Ivy, would also be in care. Les was 11 years old, Bill was just over a year. After three years, Les was sent to Canada. He didn't want to go. He never forgave his mother for not rescuing him. He never returned to England.

His mother, May Maud Bush (also went alternately by Day (perhaps Les's father's name), Mair (her mother's maiden name) and Waller. She seems to have been christened Mair, but went by Bush as a child - we are not sure why. There are several mysteries around the family and their relationships. Sometimes the children and May Maud lived with her father, other times not.

In Canada, he was placed on a farm where he was physically abused - he told me that he was beaten on his first day there and it continued for his stay. The records from Barnardo's are sketchy on how long he was there, and his story and Barnardo's records don't entirely jibe. I'm still trying to figure them out.

As an adult, he drifted around Canada, finding work where he could and learning the trade of painting. He was highly skilled in techniques like gold leaf and "wood graining" (where you paint the pattern of wood grain on plaster). He was a gifted autodidact, and once said that when he was painting "fancy houses" as an apprentice, he'd see what books were on the shelves and then go to the library and read them. Even with his limited education, he was an incredibly well-read person with a keen, dry wit. Working in Saskatchewan, he met my grandmother's brothers and eventually my grandmother, Edith Anticknap. They married and he started his own business. They had two sons, Bill (after his younger brother) and Bob. My father was the eldest, Bill.

Les was fiercely devoted to his family. I think that having lost his siblings left a mark on him that never left him. He didn't tell anyone about his time in care or how he came to Canada - mostly he told us stories that made it sound like he came as a young adventurer. He was an incredible raconteur and had connections with many of the city's most prominent citizens in Regina, and was a life elder at Knox Metropolitan United Church. He was very involved in fundraising activities and was a popular and well respected man.

The Barnardo's story came out when his brother, Bill, came to Canada with his son and daughter in law. Les found himself unable to keep it under wraps, so shortly before Bill came, he sat my father and I down and told us. He didn't want anyone to know, and he never talked about it again. We were very close and I tried several times to get more information out of him, but he'd spent his whole life trying to rise above the feeling that he'd been poor and powerless and he wasn't going there ever again. I can't say I blame him.

As he aged, his health started to fail. He had emphysema, which made it difficult to get around and his eyesight started to fail. This was very hard on such an independent person with such an active mind. We went through several recording machines from the CNIB and we had to start ordering books on tape from outside the city. We could hardly keep up with him.

He died in 1992, at 83 years old. 
ContributorsCreated : 2014-01-20 16:31:02 / From original database

Last Updated :

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Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  30 Entries        
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IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
3004 AARON, Alfred Robert1899ENG, LAN, West Derby, Liverpool Mar 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
3003 AARON, John Richard1895ENG, LAN, West Derby, Liverpool Mar 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
3007 ABBEY, Bertha1890ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3006 ABBEY, John1887ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3161 ABBEY, Thomas1892ENG, DUR, Stockton on Tees Oct 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3020 ABBOT, Alice1877ENG, MDX, Islington Oct 1893 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
3047 ABBOT, William1878ENG,     Apr 1895 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
3019 ABBOTT, Alfred1869ENG,     Aug 1887 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
23669 ABBOTT, Alice1877ENG,     Oct 1893 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
3022 ABBOTT, Bertie1894ENG, SFK, Ipswich May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos sharonmx5 , patty_in_ms  
3025 ABBOTT, David Henry1891ENG, ESS, Grays Mar 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3055 ABBOTT, Douglas Groves1910ENG, HAM, Hartley Wintney Apr 1924 : Montclare CAN Barnardos  
3858 ABBOTT, Emily Jane1886ENG, YKS, Guisborough Jul 1903 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
8354 ABBOTT, Frederick Albert Prosper1885ENG, LND, Homerton Apr 1895 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
3036 ABBOTT, George1894ENG, MDX, London Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
3038 ABBOTT, Herman Henry1882ENG, MDX, Hoxton, London Apr 1895 : Parisian CAN Barnardos  
10624 ABBOTT, John1913ENG,     Apr 1929 : Duchess of York CAN Barnardos  
3045 ABBOTT, Leslie1883ENG,     Mar 1893 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
3060 ABBOTT, Lilian1903ENG,     Jun 1912 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3026 ABBOTT, Mary1888ENG, ESS, Maldon Oct 1902 : Colonian CAN Barnardos  
3049 ABBOTT, Penelope1901ENG, KEN, Sidcup Jun 1912 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
5046 ABBS, Bertie Cecil John1914ENG, LND, St. Pancras Mar 1930 : Duchess of Richmond CAN Barnardos  
3061 ABDALE, John George1873ENG, NBL, Newcastle Upon Tyne Mar 1891 : Norwegian CAN Barnardos  
3063 ABEL, Albert Edward G.1901ENG, ESS, West Ham Aug 1910 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3066 ABEL, Charles1891ENG,     Mar 1906 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3065 ABEL, Florence1902ENG, ESS, West Ham Aug 1910 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3067 ABEL, Frederick1889ENG,     Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
3068 ABEL, George1887ENG,     Aug 1905 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3069 ABEL, George1897ENG,     Mar 1907 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3071 ABEL, John1886ENG,     Jun 1897 : Labrador CAN Barnardos  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
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Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  30 Entries