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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        
Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 131 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
18925 ABERY, Harold Thomas1908ENG, LND, Marylebone Mar 1927 : Melita CAN Salvation Army  
19040 AITKEN, Ian1909ENG,     Mar 1927 : Melita CAN Salvation Army  
10420 ALDERTON, Oliver Claud1908ENG, SFK, Bury St Edmonds Apr 1923 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
15553 ALLEN, Edith Mary1912ENG,     May 1922 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
10533 ALWAY, Walter George1912ENG,    , East Stonehouse Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
18790 AMBROSE, Alfred1912ENG,     Mar 1927 : Melita CAN Salvation Army  
23776 ANDERSON, Richard1914ENG,     Apr 1923 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
10631 ARCHER, Philip James1909ENG,     Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
23810 ASHBY, Emily1911ENG,     Apr 1923 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
15686 ASHFORD, Alice Carter1908ENG, YKS, Leeds Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
23816 ASHFORD, Arthur1909ENG,     Apr 1923 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
22647 ASTBURY, George1904ENG,     Jun 1920 : Melita CAN Waifs & Strays  
9584 BABBEY, James1910ENG,     May 1922 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
8397 BABBEY, Nellie 1913ENG,     Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
18514 BARNES, Ernest Edwin1908ENG,     1923 : Melita CAN Unknown  
10457 BARNES, Gladys1909ENG, WAR, Birmingham Apr 1923 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
22649 BATTLEY, Kenneth Harry1905ENG,     May 1920 : Melita CAN Waifs & Strays  
21429 BEER, Meta E.1916ENG,     Aug 1927 : Melita CAN Unknown  
3832 BINGHAM, Francis1910ENG, MDX, London Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
15567 BONNER, Sidney Thomas1907ENG,     May 1922 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
10425 BONNICK, Alice Annie1910ENG,    , Lambeth Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
13831 BOOTH, Jack Langton1912ENG, WIL, Melksham Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
18313 BRADFORD, William John Woodman1904ENG, SRY, Addiscombe May 1920 : Melita CAN Waifs & Strays  
10467 BRISTOW, George1910ENG, WIL, Mere Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
10468 BROWN, Frederick 1906ENG,    , Clewer Apr 1921 : Melita CAN Liverpool Sheltering Home  
19065 BROWN, Robert1909ENG,     Mar 1927 : Melita CAN Salvation Army  
22912 BRYSON, David1914ENG,     Jul 1928 : Melita CAN YMCA  
10442 BUCKLER, Leonard1911ENG, LAN, Prestwich Apr 1923 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
13747 BULLEN, George Albert Edward1914ENG,     Sep 1924 : Melita CAN Barnardos csedgwick  
6530 BURFORD, Bessie1906ENG,    , Cottridge Kings Norton May 1922 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 131 Entries        
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