See also
Leslie John William Henry Wallace, c. 1929, age 21
Name:
Leslie John William Henry Wallace
Sex:
Male
Father:
Mother:
1908, Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth for Leslie John William Henry Wallace
Birth:
9 Jun 1908
East Stonehouse, Devon1
Address: 65 George Street
At the time his father was serving in H.M.S. Cumberland so may have been away at sea.
Birth Registration:
13 Jul 1908 (age 0)
Register Office
Address: East Stonehouse, Devon
Census (living with mother):
2 Apr 1911 (age 2)
1911 Census. Living with mother
Education:
btw 1921 and 1924 (age 12-16)
secondary education; the Regent Street School2
Address: Devonport, Devon
Military Service:
frm 5 Aug 1924 to 6 Oct 1935 (age 16-27)
Royal Navy as an Electrical Artificeer; shore establishments and ships3
Being selected as an Electrical Artificer meant that he had done very well in the entrance examination as only the top few candidates were selected for the electrical branch which was then in its infancy. In fact the electrical branch as a separate entity as not formed until after WW2 when increasing complex equipment including radio and radar necessitated the formation of a separate specialisation. Up to then the Torpedo Officer (a seaman and not a professional engineer) was responsible for the ship's electrical systems although his staff would include Electrical Artificers who had received 4 years theoretical and practical training on the electrical systems and equipment to be found in ships and in large vessels a few Commissioned Officers promoted from Electrical Artificers. Semi-skilled labour was provided by torpedo men who were seamen.
Leslie's wife Doris said that he did not really want to enter the Navy but was pressured to do so by his mother Amy. His letters to Doris and his diary written whilst serving in H M S Resolution in the Mediterranean certainly show that he was not happy in the Navy.
Diagnosed with:
1934 (age 25-26)
The original diagnosis was made by the the Luscombe's G.P. Doctor Simpson-White (an ex-Major specializing in chest complaints on the Western Front) who happened to see Les when he came into his father-in-laws's (Harry Luscombe) shop in Chapel Street, heard him coughing and asked Les to come to his surgery after hours. At the time Leslie was serving in H.M.S. Rodney.
Illness:
frm 1934 to 1942 (age 25-34)
pulmonary tuberculosis
After the initial diagnosis Les was admitted to the R.N. Hospital, Stonehouse where he was visited by his wife Doris and initially by his much younger brother-in-law Harry Luscombe. Harry's visits were stopped by his father because he feared the family would be infected. Les moved out to Mount Gold Hospital where he had gold injections. Then to Didworthy Sanatorium. From there Les, Doris and their daughter Pat moved to Brook Lodge in Sampford Spiney which is about 12 miles from Plymouth and where the higher altitude on the edge of Dartmoor was better for Les's breathing. A wooden hunt was placed across the drive from the front door in which Les slept. The family remained at Brook Lodge until Les's death in January 1942 after which Doris and Pat stayed there until moving into Plymouth later that year.
May have attended:
5 Mar 1935 (age 26)
Leslie may have been present at the marriage of Harry Victor Wallace and Mary Beatrice Blagdon
Military Discharge:
6 Oct 1935 (age 27)
Royal Navy on the grounds of being medically unfit because he had pulmonary tuberculosis ; H M S Drake5
Address: Royal Naval Barracks, Devonport
Parent:
26 Oct 1940 (age 32)
Birth of son John
Father:
11 Nov 1940 (age 32)
Reported the birth of his son John
Father:
11 Nov 1940 (age 32)
Reported the death of his son John
Death:
29 Jan 1942 (age 33)
Horrabridge, Sampford Spiney, Devon6
Cause: pulmonary tuberculosis
Address: Brook Lodge
His wife Doris and his mother Amy were with him at the time. His daughter Pat was also living at Brook Lodge but at the age of 2 1/2 she was unaware of his death and has no memories of him.
Burial:
1942
at sea7
Address: in Plymouth Sound
During his lifelime he had expressed a wish to be buried at sea and the arrangements were made by his widow Doris for his ashes to be scattered in Plymouth Sound. Subsequently his wife Doris had his name added to the stone marking their son John’s grave in Sampford Spiney churchyard and his mother Amy had his name added to the family grave in Ford Park Cemetery Plymouth.
Spouse: Doris Winifred Luscombe, 1931, age 23
Daughter: Patricia Hélène Wallace, 1948, age 9
1930, Leslie Wallace and Doris Luscombe 3 August 1930
1930, Doris Luscombe on her engagement August 1930
1931, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage for Leslie John Wallace and Doris Winifred Luscombe
1931, Doris Luscombe in her Wedding Dress 20 Febuary 1931
1931, Leslie and Doris Wallace on their Wedding Day 20 Februay 1931
1975, LDS Family Group Record for Leslie Wallace and Doris Luscombe
Spouse:
Children:
Engagement:
1 Aug 1930 (age 22)
Two photographs associated with their engagement exist. The first is an informal photograph of Leslie and Doris taken in May's garden at Copnor, Portsmouth which is dated 3 August 1930. May was obviously a friend but the exact relationship to Leslie and Doris is not known. The second is a formal studio portrait of Doris which was taken in Plymouth and is dated 1 August 1930 and gives the place of their engagement as Southsea. At the time Leslie was serving in HMS Adventure which was probably in Portsmouth and Doris had taken the opportunity to travel from Plymouth where she was living at the time to Copnor to be with Leslie.
Marriage:
20 Feb 1931 (age 22)
Address: East Stonehouse, Devon
Roy Wallace was the groom's brother and may also have been his best man. Henry Luscombe (he signed himself Harry Luscombe as he always did) was the bride's father who almost certainly gave his daughter away. It is believed that the groom's and the bride's families were present and probably some friends as well. The reception was probably held at her parents home in Chapel Street. Where the couple went for their honeymoon is not known but it was probably a resort such as Torquay.
Residence (family):
frm 1936 to 1942 (age 27-34)
Address: Brook Lodge
Initially it was just Leslie and Doris until May 1939 when their daughter Patricia was born and lived with them until her father's death in 1942.
1939 Register (Household):
29 Sep 1939 (age 31)
Sampford Spiney, Tavistock, Devon14
Address: Brook Lodge
The household consisted of Leslie, his wife Doris and their 4 months old daughter Patricia.
Family Group Record:
22 Mar 1975 (age 66)15
Friends
Leisle had three special friends made when he was an Artificer Apprentice, Andy Ferris, Tom Loosemoor and Bill Miner. The four went around in a group although obviously when they had finished their apprenticeship and were drafted to ships they saw less of each other although they remained friends. Tom Loosemoor went down with H.M.S. Hood when she was sunk but the other two survived the war. His daughter, Pat, remembers one of them coming to see her mother after the war.16
General Register office, Certified Copy for an Entry of Birth for Leslie John William Henry Wallace, (Issued by GRO on 9 Dec 2009 Application No 1858234-2). Custom Id: PBX 69804; Cit. Date: 1 July 1908. Pat Ward.
Harry Kenneth Luscombe, Letter from Harry Luscombe to his niece Patricia Ward dated 4 Nov 2011, (4 Nov 2011). Custom Id: HKL 2011-11-04; Page 1. Cit. Date: 4 November 2011. Pat Ward.
Royal Navy, Service Records for Leslie John William Henry Wallace in the Royal Navy, (Original document). Click on Exhibit Log in either the Source or the Tag for details. Cit. Date: 5 August 1924. Pat Ward.
Harry Kenneth Luscombe, 9 Maple Gardens, Bath, Letter from Harry Luscombe to his niece Pat Ward dated 16 July 2004, (16 Jul 2004). Cit. Date: 16 July 2004. Pat Ward.
Military Record ( service record held ashore ) for Leslie John William Henry Wallace in the Electrical Artificer of the Royal Navy. National Archives
Registrar, Tavistock Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Death for Leslie John Wallace, (30 Jan 1942 held in Pat's Certificates). Custom Id: D6 994945; Cit. Date: 13 January 1942. Pat Ward.
J. P. W. Ward, Memoir - The Wallace Family - Reminiscences of Patricia Hélène Ward, (2009 & updated as necessary). Paragraph 4 Leslie and Doris Wallace. Cit. Date: 1942. Wallace-Boyle Database.
Photograph of Doris Winifred Luscombe ; Engagement ; Plymouth, Devon August 1930; Pat Ward
Photograph of Leslie Wallace and Doris Luscombe ; Engagement ; May's garden Copnor, Portsmouth, Hampshire 3 August 1930; Pat Ward
Rev. Anthony T. Allwork, Certificate of Marriage for Leslie John Wallace and Doris Winifred Luscombe, (20 Feb 1931). Witness. Cit. Date: 20 February 1931. Pat Ward.
George's Studio, 163 Union Street, Plymouth, Photographs of Leslie John Wallace's and Doris Winifred Luscombe's Wedding. Cit. Date: 20 February 1931. Pat Ward.
J. P. W. Ward, Memoir - The Wallace Family - Reminiscences of Patricia Hélène Ward, (2009 & updated as necessary). Click on Exhibit Log to open document then go to 3 Leslie and Doris Wallace. Wallace-Boyle Database.
Photograph of Leslie & Doris Wallace with Nin ; Visit by Nin ; Brook Lodge 1939; Pat Ward
1939 Register: Leslie Wallace, 29 September 1939, National Archives.
LDS, LDS Family Group Record for Leslie John William Wallce and Doris Winifred Luscombe, (Pat's Certificates). Cit. Date: 22 March 1975. Pat Ward.
J. P. W. Ward, Memoir - The Wallace Family - Reminiscences of Patricia Hélène Ward, (2009 & updated as necessary). 4 Leslie and Doris Wallace. Cit. Date: from 1930 to 1941. Wallace-Boyle Database.