I met my paternal grandfather, 'Grandpa Lee' in late 1951/2 when I was four five years old. Memories of meeting him, his capacity for comforting hugs and the delightful way he called me 'happy face' remain, captured in a bubble surrounded by an aura of light and happiness in my brain. A widower for seven years when we visited, James Joseph Lee lived in a flat in an historic building in Manly, not far from the harbourside beach where the ferries berth and depart. He died in 1957. I remember my father preparing to go to Sydney for his funeral, returning saddened with memorabilia, including a watch inscribed JL, and his war medals, of which I now have the miniatures which my grandmother probably wore at Anzac Time. I knew that he had been a printer, had run printing businesses in Sydney and Lismore, NSW; that he had lost these businesses during the Great Depression after holding on to his staff for as long as he could. I also knew that he had grown up and married In Leith, the port city adjoining Edinburgh, In Scotland where my father was born. I believed that my ancestors on the Lee side were Scottish. That was about it! I didn't know his parent's names, whether he had any brothers and sisters. His early live and 'family of origin' were a mystery to me. Where to begin? BMD (Birth, Marriages and Deaths) documents retrieved online from Scotland's People proved invaluable, The Birth Certificate for my father, confirmed his birth to James Lee and Rose McCann in Leith in 1904. A breakthrough came with the Marriage Certificate of James and Rose, as it listed their parents. Suddenly I had the names of Grandpa Lee's parents - Anthony Lee and Barbara Sullivan. I knew about 'Lee', fancy being a 'Sullivan'! I was thrilled to find that my father was named after his grandfather, also an Anthony Lee, and then on finding my great grandparent's wedding certificate, found that I had Irish great, great grandparents Michael Lee and Margaret Reilly! A UK Census Record for Scotland from 1871 revealed my Great Grandfather Anthony Lee, was, along with brothers and sisters, born in Ireland of an Irish father and mother. What a wonderful resource! Later discovered Catholic Church Baptismal Records from Kilronanan County Roscommon, confirmed his grandparents, but also his aunts and uncles, with all names this time recorded in Latin. 'Michaelem Lee married Marguerita Reilly, and had children Eleonaram (Ellen), Mariam (Maria), James, Antonium (Anthony), John (Joannem) and Michael (Michaelem), before leaving Ireland, having a daughter Margaret, in Scotland. Margaret died as a child, however her birth and death records, falling after the Scottish documentation was more formally registered in 1855, resulting in even greater clarity in some of the details, including the knowledge that my great, great grandparents had married in ....... . Unless, as is possible, the Lees left Scotland for Ireland, perhaps during the troubles or an earlier migration, Grandpa Lee's ancestors were Irish, and he grew up in Leith with Lee side Irish grandparents, aunts and uncles, surrounded as a child by Irish accents. Tracking the family later through Scotlands BMD records, I was relieved and delighted to find that Grandpa Lee, an eldest child had lots of cousins to play with when he was little. Playmates also included uncles, as his mother's younger brothers Francis and Edward Sulivan, were his age. Francis Sullivan, also a 'compositor', was the best man at Grandpa Lee's wedding. I discovered that Grandpa Lee had 10 younger brothers and sisters. The family lived for many years in what was probably a tenement in street called Cables Wynd, near the whisky distilleries located near Leith Docks. During the 1880's a brother, Patrick; and sister Ann were born, however Anne died at 4 yrs. In 1890's Anthony, Mary Cecilia, Barbara, Winnifred, Elizabeth and Phillip were born, however like their sister Anne, Mary Cecilia and Barbara died in early childhood;. Another Barbara, who also died in early childhood, was born in 1901, while in1904, his youngest sister Mary. and born, as was (her nephew), my father Anthony Lee. In 1908 his brother Anthony died of tuberculosis. Like Grandpa Lee, my father had Aunts and Uncles who were close to him in age. Born in 1883, James younger sisters Elizabeth was born in 1898, with another sister, Mary born in 1904, and brother Phillip were born in 1899. An only child at that time, there is a strong likelihood that he would have spent time with them as a child before leaving for Australia in 1912. Grandpa Lee's Birth Certificate revealed that at the time of his birth his father Anthony was a dock labourer Leith was a busy port at that time, and his father remained working on the docks until his death in 1917. Old Postcards and images of Leith found through Facebook groups provided some idea of what Leith must have been like in the 1880's as Grandpa Lee grew up. It's possible that his father Anthony was involved in the Leith Dock Strikes of 1889 pictured in one of these images. Grandpa Lee's Australian war records made reference to his being in the Leith based Royal Scots Divisions of the British Army for at least eight years before coming to Australia in 1912. I have had problems locating his documents in the UK military records, largely because a cousin, also named James Lee and born in Leith in the same year, had a long military record in the Royal Scots. This James Lee, a prize winning boxer affectionately known as Tancy Lee, was and possibly still is, considered a national living treasure in Scotland. His army records keep 'getting in the way', testing my patience, but I'm persisting. I'd love to visit the archives of the Royal Scots in Edinburgh to access the documents. Shipping records revealed that James, Rose and Tony had immigrated to Australia in 1912 when my father was eight years old. Business Directory entries show him as running printing businesses in Sydney, Electoral Records reflect the years in Sydney ; while Trove records flesh out some stories about a fire in the George Streetbuilding in which he had just started his printing business in 1913 and the family's social life in Manly and North Sydney. Facebook groups such as 'I Love Leith', have helped me to picture the life which Grandpa Lee had in Leith. There's a wonderful postcard series which was published in 1904, the year when James, aged only 21, and at the time I think in the Royal Scots, became a father - the year my father was born. Ancestry.com, and to a lesser extent My Heritage, have enabled me to further Grandpa Lee's extended family and led to treasured connections with Grandpa Lee's nieces, nephews. I knew nothing of them when I began my quest. HIs sister Elizabeth's son Bill Tully, who emigrated to Vancouver was a wonderful link to the family's life in Leith; his niece Barbara Lee, remains on my international phone list to call up from time to time in Toronto, Candada. I have Elizabeth's grandson on my list to visit if ever I go to Leith; Bill's daughters to visit in Vancouver; and have visited.... daughter in law in Brisbane. It has been such an adventure, with many treasured discoveries along the way.
So now, when I look at the photo I have of Grandpa Lee in uniform during World War I, I picture a young man with a large extended family who grew up in the Irish Catholic community of South Leith. Many of his male Lee relatives worked on the docks, however his mother's sister appears to have married a well to do printer. Grandpa Lee trained as a printer /compositor, then went into the army where his printing experience seems to have led to him specialising in communications and signalling. He established his own printing business briefly before immigrating to Australia in 1912. He established a printing business in Sydney, however returned to England in late 1915 with the Australian military forces. He was recommended for an award for bravery in relation to signalling and mentioned in despatches during the First World War. He was a much loved father to my father, loved by his daughter in laws, and highly respected by family and friends. Bill Tully, the son of his sister Elizabeth, explained to me once that the Lee family in Leith were "very proud of James, who became a Lieutenant in the Australian Army". I am too. Although I only met him once, I've always loved the fact that he nicknamed me 'Happy Face' and suspect that he was indeed a 'kindred spirit'. As I graduated from childhood to struggle through adolescence, my nose became an quite an issue. Self consciously growing into it, I despaired about the bump in my nose to my parents on many occasions. (This must have been difficult for them at the time, as neither had the cute, turned up nose that I longed for...) My father's response was always to explain to me that I had a special nose, one to feel proud of, a 'Roman Nose'. He tried to help me to reframe my perceptions, to see my Scottish 'Lee Side' nose as having distinctive 'Roman Emperor' connotations. Wikipedia states "An aquiline nose (also called a Roman nose or hook nose) is a human nose with a prominent bridge, giving it the appearance of being curved or slightly bent. The word aquiline comes from the Latin word aquilinus ("eagle-like"), an allusion to the curved beak of an eagle." Now that doesn't make me feel any better at all! It also suggests that my aquiline 'Roman nose' may have genetic links on both sides of the family, as I would describe my mother as having the rather aquiline nose of her paternal 'Miller' grandmother. The Miller clan - of Scottish/Irish descent - sported a number of Roman noses. Kaustubh Adhikari (2016) wrote in 'The Conversation' that 'the history of nose beauty ideals has been changeable and at times dark. For example, in early Europe the hooked “Roman” nose signified beauty and nobility. The Nazis on the other hand despised it and saw it as a characteristic of Jewish people. Even more broadly, Jews like Shakespeare’s Shylock typically ended up being portrayed with a hooked nose to represent evilness.' The Romans do appear to have invaded the southern part of Scotland and have garrisons there for periods of time between 43 AD and about 400 AD, even if they were unsuccessful across most of Scotland. So there is some, if very slim, chance that there may be some Roman genetic matter in my DNA (perhaps I should have a DNA test afterall!). However some respondents to web discussions suggest that while the casts of Roman Emporers do tend to feature Roman Noses, photographic evidence can be found of Aquiline, Roman like noses in the American Indian; Indian subcontinent; and other ethnic groups. Others have concluded that 'a nose is a nose', rather than being race specific. Their conclusion, appearing during my somewhat cursory research into Roman Noses, is not particularly welcome. You see, I have become comfortable with the possibility that a genetic link to my Roman Nose had arisen out of the Roman occupation of Scotland and had passed, not only genetically, but through family stories over centuries which my father had passed on to me A PhD would probably be needed to research this 'warm and fuzzy' hypothesis (....and is unlikely to proceed if left to me to do!) Interestingly, a genetic link to my Scottish Lee/McCann paternal line became obvious when my 'long lost' first cousin, Chris, visited Benalla some years ago. My sister, knowing that my nose has always been 'an issue' for me, suddenly exclaimed over dinner 'Bev, Chris has the same nose as you do!' Next thing I knew, she was arranging for us to stand side on looking at one another to take a photograph of our profiles to confirm this. Perhaps we do have the same nose, but my argument would be... "it looks better on Chris!" Reference and banner photograph image:
Kaustubh Adhikari 'The Conversation' May 24 2016 - 'How we found the genes that control nose shape and what they say about us'
"At 0649 on the 22nd May 1915, troops from the 7th (Leith) Battalion, Royal Scots, were en route for the Dardanelles. Heading south, they had not yet left Scotland when the train they were travelling on collided with an empty, stationary train which was on the same track, detailing the cars and rupturing the gas lamps. Then, sixty seconds later, a northbound express bound for Glasgow smashed into the wreckage. Many men were killed either in the first or second collisions, but the flames from the ruptured gas lamps caused an inferno and there was nothing available to extinguish it. Trapped men had to have limbs amputated by whatever means necessary to get them out of the fire. Others, who could not escape, begged to be shot, rather than be burned to death. 226 men died, 82 of whom were burned beyond recognition in the fire which wasn't extinguished until the following day. Most of the dead were returned to Leith, in Edinburgh, where they were buried in Rosebank Cemetery.
The cause of the crash: Signalling error. "At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them." From a post by Nick Field on the I Love Leith FB page on 22/5/2020.
Today is the anniversary of tragic death of many members of the 7th Battalion, Royal Scots, in the Quintinshill or Gretna Rail Disaster. My grandfather James Lee's military records reveal that he had been a soldier in the 3rd and 5th Royal Scots prior to migrating to Australia in 1912. James is highly likely to have known many of the men involved in the train disaster, either a during his time in the army or while living in Leith, where his family still lived. It is said that everyone in Leith knew someone who had been killed or injured in the disaster.
The Leith Battalion from Rare Bird on Vimeo.
Two years after the train tragedy, on 12 December 1917, 'James' sister, Winnifred Lee, married Matthew Donovan. Attested to the 7th Battalion, Royal Scots in 1911, 21 year old Matthew was seriously injured in the Gretna train disaster. In Military Pension Records available on line, Matthew is described as being 'Injured in Gretna Accident 22-5-2015'; and being 'Discharged permanently medically unfit' on 31 January 1916. Sadly, further tragedy befell Matthew on 6 July, 2018, when Winnifred died of eclampsia, a pregnancy and childbirth related condition. Marrying Winnifred and expecting their first child must have been a period of renewal of hope for Matthew. How bereft he must have been at their loss.
Postscript: In 1921 Matthew married Anne McDougall Uter and in 1928 had a daughter Agnes Marion (Esma) Donovan. Anne died in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1956. Matthew was the informant listed on Anne's death certificate; it is unclear when he died - he may have moved to England to be nearer Esma, who lived in Berkshire.
The bravery of my grandfather, James Joseph Lee, was officially recognised through a Mention in Despatches for 'valuable services rendered in connection with the war' in France in March 1918 and in northern France near the border with Belgium in August and September 1918. An officer working in Signals training in England from early 1916 to late 1917, James was transferred to active duty in France in November 1917. This year I'm planning to follow James's service record as a centenary of the First World War - I'd better get moving though as it will soon be March. I need to determine whether the Mention in Despatches relates to the same battles as the Belgian Croix de Guerre, or earlier incidents in France, or perhaps recognition for his work in the 'depots'. My brother John thinks that it is almost certainly the former, but I'm uncertain. I need to check out his service record carefully to see where he was in March 1918; to locate Proyart and Hesbecourt; and more!
Later (25/2): It seems that both Proyart and Hesbecourt are in the North of France near the border with Belgium; so the battles referred to fall within the Western Front/ 'France and Flanders' category. I've started to try to track the timeline for James Lee moving into active duty with the 2nd Battalion, and things are starting to make sense. On November 1, 1917, facing a manpower crisis, it was decided to combine five divisions to form one, the Australian Corps. James was recommissioned (word) from his roles at Perham Downs to the 2nd Battalion within this umbrella in mid November 2017. The 2nd Battalion was involved in significant battles in March and again in the 'Hundred Days Offensive' period under the command of Sir John Monash in August/September 1918. It is possible that James' 'Mention in Despatches' on March 13 2018 relates to either his service at Perham Downs or to battles in France March 1918, and is separate from his later recommendation for operations on 28 August and 16 September for the Belgian Croix de Guerre. (Need to tighten this up!) |
The Journey ...An 'occasional blog' recording elements of my renewed family history journey. This is the second wave in my 'family history' journey. The first lasted from 2010 to 2014. with intermittent bursts since then. It's time to revisit, to share more stories, to edit, to tackle uncertainties... Categories
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