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Record #15925

Name :: : William DONOVAN (1882 - )
aka : Willie Donovan
Father: :
Mother: :

BMD and other details

Date of Birth: : 1882 (approx.)
Marriage (1): :
Marriage (2): :
Date of Death: :

Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland

Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial

Sailing Information

Date of Arrival: : 7 Aug 1897
Country: : Canada
Ship: : Vancouver
Placement Family: :

Homes / Agencys

Institution (GB): :
Agency: : Barnardos

NotesIn 1897, W. J. Donovan, 14, arrived at Quebec, Canada, along with a group of 137 Barnardo children en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Toronto Star
Wednesday, October 30, 1929

CONVICT ON TICKET SEEKS DEPORTATION

Spent Twenty-Two Years in Prisons--Saw Action in Two Wars

Special to the Star by Staff Reporter

Hamilton, Ont., Oct. 29.--Willie O. Donovan, who claims to be an English "ticket-of-leave" with the record of having spent 22 of his 47 years in prison, is not too pleased with the prospect of a rigorous Canadian winter and he appealed to Inspector of Detectives J. R. Crocker to-day for deportation. He is being held pending communication with Scotland Yard for a check-up.

He told the Inspector of an adventurous career which began when he was sent as a Barnardo boy to a farm near Dunnville and has since progressed through two wars, three penitentiaries and "bush-bound" Northern Ontario.

"I served 22 months with the 14th Hussars in South Africa, and was honorably discharged," Donovan said. "Then I got in bad in England and was sentenced to five years in Dartmoor in 1905 for burglary. I was there when the only successful break was made from the Moor by two convicts, who jumped aboard a freight train, but found it going the wrong way and were caught at Land's End."

A week's leave from the horrors of war brought him back to England an old pal, Donovan related, and the subsequent conviction for 22 burglaries during the week took him back to the solitude of a prison for thirteen years. A titled English social service worker became interested in him when eleven yeas of his sentence was served, he said, and he once more gained freedom on "license." The lady went further and got him work as a coal trimmer on the Laurentic, but while he was still on parole he claims he deserted the ship at Montreal. "I broke my arm when I jumped from the boat," Donovan said, "and I had to nurse it myself for fear I would be caught. I worked my way to Northern Ontario and for the last fourteen months have been working in railway and lumber camps near Sudbury."

"I have been going straight," he said. "The game isn't worth the candle. I have been in tight places and 22 years in jail has taught me to go straight. If I can get back to England I will go to [illegible] for the rest of my days."

Donovan jibed the inspector on Canadian police methods, claiming that if he were wandering the streets in England carrying a pack he would be questioned by every "Bobby."

ContributorsCreated : 2012-01-22 20:07:15 / From original database

Last Updated : 2012-01-22 20:09:14 /

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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 6 7 8 224 Entries

ID	Name	DOB	Place of birth	Arrivals & Ships	Dest.	Agency	Family links
22766	ABIGAIL, Ellen	1877	ENG,	Aug 1894 : Vancouver	CAN	Colonists Aid Society
3078	ABIGAIL, Helen Mary	1877	ENG, LND, Pimlico	Aug 1894 : Vancouver	CAN	Colonists Aid Society
14478	ABRAMS, Leopold	1885	ENG,	Apr 1895 : Vancouver	CAN	Marchmont Homes (now Barnardos)
3121	ACKERLEY, John	1888	ENG, LAN, Liverpool	May 1900 : Vancouver	CAN	Liverpool Sheltering Home
3122	ACKERLEY, Thomas William	1886	ENG, LAN, Liverpool	May 1900 : Vancouver	CAN	Liverpool Sheltering Home
17051	ACKERLY, Thomas	1887	ENG,	May 1900 : Vancouver	CAN	Liverpool Sheltering Home
3149	ACREMAN, Emily	1877	ENG,	Jul 1888 : Vancouver	CAN	National Childrens Home
10030	ALBERY, Charles Samuel	1882	ENG, LND, Battersea	Jun 1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Barnardos
9857	ALBURY, George Arthur	1884	ENG, LND, Southwark	Jun 1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Barnardos
22729	ALLAN, Alec	1876	ENG,	Mar 1889 : Vancouver	CAN	National Childrens Home
12923	ALLEN, Harry	1885	ENG,	Apr 1897 : Vancouver	CAN	Marchmont Homes (now Barnardos)
15653	ALLMARK, John	1879	ENG,	Mar 1889 : Vancouver	CAN	Marchmont Homes (now Barnardos)	allmarkc
15391	ARNOLD, Louise	1875	ENG,	Jun 1894 : Vancouver	CAN	Labourers & Domestics
16177	BAILEY, Samuel	1882	ENG,	Apr 1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Marchmont Homes (now Barnardos)
15096	BAKER, Elizabeth	1881	ENG,	Jul 1895 : Vancouver	CAN	British Women\'s Emigration Association
10911	BANCROFT, J	1876	ENG,	Jun 1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Barnardos
14437	BARKER, Samuel George	1884	ENG,	Apr 1895 : Vancouver	CAN	Marchmont Homes (now Barnardos)
18447	BARMAN, Minnie	1884	ENG,	Jun 1891 : Vancouver	CAN	Bristol Emigration Society
18462	BARNES, A G	1893	ENG,	1907 : Vancouver	CAN
18710	BARNES, J	1882	ENG,	Apr 1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Fegan Homes for Boys
18714	BARNES, John	1878	ENG,	1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Unknown
18734	BARNES, Martha Mabel	1877	ENG,	1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Unknown
18739	BARNES, Nelson	1880	ENG,	1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Unknown
12901	BARRETT, Mary	1882	ENG,	Apr 1897 : Vancouver	CAN	Marchmont Homes (now Barnardos)
14906	BARTON, Alice E	1883	ENG,	Aug 1897 : Vancouver	CAN	Barnardos
3442	BASHFORD, Albert Edward	1886	ENG, HAM, Isle of Wight	Jun 1891 : Vancouver	CAN	Bristol Emigration Society
3441	BASHFORD, Charlotte	1881	ENG, HAM, Isle of Wight	Jun 1891 : Vancouver	CAN	Bristol Emigration Society
16398	BATTERBEE, Sidney Arthur	1879	ENG, CAM, Wisbech	Jun 1893 : Vancouver	CAN	Barnardos
14023	BAZELEY, Charles	1888	ENG,	Apr 1901 : Vancouver	CAN	National Childrens Home
13958	BAZELEY, Harry	1891	ENG,	Apr 1901 : Vancouver	CAN	National Childrens Home
ID	Name	DOB	Place of birth	Arrivals & Ships	Dest.	Agency	Family links

Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 224 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

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