News Letter 10 Final.pub (Read-Only) - The Binns Family

) +%$– We wish to thank Arthur Evans for writing this interesting account of hisUncle Fred and the discovery of new cousins in Australia.When John Binns (b.1814) ofCowling married Phoebe Smith atSkipton Registry Office in September1850 his son James by a formerwife was already in his midteens.James married CarolineThompson at Bolton AbbeyChapel in 1858 and they settled inBurnsall where they raised a familyof five sons and two daughtersbetween 1859 and 1881. Theiryoungest son, Arthur (b. 1870)married Rosetta Barrett in 1896and Fred Binns was the first productof their union.Fred turned out to be a colourfulcharacter and it is his story that isoutlined below.Fred Binns managed to enlist inthe West Yorks Regiment around1916 at the start of World War Ibut had the misfortune to be capturedby the Germans and endedup in a prisoner of war camp(details not known). After his releasehe married Maude Barnsleyin 1921 and in 1926 they immigratedto Australia with their sonDonald (b.1922). He travelledaround a lot and wrote home to hisyoungest brother Jack (b. 1916) in1930. Part of this letter has beenfound by Jacks daughterand recounts his travels from Sydneyup through Queensland tosettle in the far north. A transcriptof one of his letters mentions severalplace names and provides avivid account of the wild life andscenery.He eventually worked in the MountIsa copper mining region inQueensland, but his letters makeno mention of his wife Maude.Whatever became of Maude wemay never know, but Fred met upwith a lady called Florence Hartewith whom he had two children,Gerald (b. 1932) in Mount Isa andAnne Rosetta (b. 1936) in Brisbane.Fred’s complex family liferemained a mystery until January2004 when Anne Rosetta (nowCoverdale) finally sought out herfather, via the internet and theCowling web site.I was then in a position to tell herof her family’s roots in Cowlingand we exchanged photos andinformation about her father. I waseven able to tell her of a brotherDonald she never knew. Remarkablyher “new” brother Donald wasliving not far from her brother Gerald.I put her in touch with Donald’sson Gary who was also living inthe Brisbane area.Fred had kept in touch over theyears with his eldest sister Lily andyoungest brother George andwhen my mother, Mary, George’stwin sister, gave birth to a son, me,George passed the news on toFred. It was 1940 and the last timewe ever heard from Fred. Whenhe wrote his congratulations to mymother and father he added,"I suppose you got a shock tolearn that I had again joined thearmy. Well it would appear that theold spirit of adventure is still alivewith me and as you will see by thephoto I am sending you underseparate cover. I am looking infine condition and believe me, Ifeel as well as I look, and if fatedecrees I must once more have asmack at "Jerry", well I think I cangive as good an account as I didlast time, the difference being Ithink there is really something tofight for this time"Fred enlistedinitially in the Home Defence butlater was shipped overseas to Singapore.His son Donald, who was noweighteen years old, was a groundengineer in the Australian Air-forceduring the war.Anne obtained all Fred’s army recordsand although they requiresome deciphering they recount ahorrendous catalogue of hospitalvisits in various location in theMalayan peninsular and Javawhere he was a prisoner of warfrom 1942 until he was "recovered552from the Japanese" on the 20thAugust 1945.He remained in hospital,sometimes aboard hospitalships, until discharged in July1946.Anne’s story is also rather tragicas she was in an orphanage from4 months old till she was 18 whenshe had a child who was takenfrom her, and lived not far fromher, near her other daughters butshe did not find this out till 43years had passed.Gerald too was in an orphanagebut went to live with his fatherbriefly at some time maybe afterthe war.Anne who has six children, tengrandchildren, and up to now threegreat-grandchildren of her ownhas now discovered anotherbrother and ten cousins thanks toher determination to unravel herfamily history.I met Fred’s son Donald 10 yearsago and was told that Fred haddied in 1976.After the war Fred had become aJehova’s Witness and all contactwith the family was severed. WhenI asked about his father’s experienceshe told me that awful thingshad happened to him and hewould not talk about them. It wasgood to meet my cousin for thefirst time and hopefully I may meetmy "new" cousins someday.Fred’s account of travel from New SouthWales to his home in the north ofQueensland will appear in the nextNumber of Binns Connections.55 !!