Tracing Marie’s Biological Father’s journey from POW to his Pursuit of the American Dream!
In the process of identifying Marie’s biological father, I also solved two other mysteries from different parts of the world and traced her father’s life through documents and newspaper articles – And the babies that he left behind! The below is a summary of findings:
DNA Analysis Revealed Marie’s Father – Leonard England born 1914
Through my DNA match analysis, research, detective work, tree building and probability analysis, I determined that Marie’s father was Leonard England.
Leonard England 1914 to 1939
Leonard's family seemed ordinary, but I found that one brother was accused of murder – look up “The Brighton Trunk murders, and another was an honoured Wing Commander, in the RAF, who never married or had children – two brothers with contrasting lives. A third brother was killed in 1943 on a submarine.
Leonard was 5 foot 7 inches. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, a light complexion and weighed 150lbs in 1946. His life turned out to be far from ordinary too.
In 1939 Leonard was in the Merchant Navy, 3rd Officer SS Avila Star and living in the Isle of Wight with Margaret Love, whom he married in 1940.
In 1939, serving Merchant Navy men, like Leonard, were given a choice whether to continue in the Merchant Navy or join another armed service. Leonard chose the Army.
Leonard England 1940 – 1945 RASC (Royal Army Service Corp) T61038 Driver
Leonard joined the RASC as a driver. The Royal Army Service Corp were responsible for supplying the British Army with provisions. Leonard was captured in Germany in June 1940 - presumably before or during the evacuation from Dunkirk.
He became a POW in Stalag IXV Bad-Sulza - a later record revealed that he had a scar beneath his left leg up to his hip. He was on the casualty list in May/June 1940..
In 1945 he was in Stalag 4b Muhlberg, Elbe. This camp was close to the town of Muhlberg. It was liberated by the Red Army in April 1945, so I assume that this is when Leonard returned to England and met Marie's mother.
This is the entrance to Stalag (Stammlager) IV B
[I have full subscriptions in many record databases which enables me to find out information and records which, in this case, was invaluable.]
German DNA Match - Mystery Solved and Location Evidence Found
Marie had a close DNA match ("Lucy"). (Lucy's father - let’s call him Hans) was conceived in 1941. Hans’ father (on paper) was a Nazi SS officer who took his family with him to Bad Sulza where he was stationed.
It was clear to me that at some point during Leonard’s incarceration he met Lucy’s grandmother and had a sexual encounter with Hans’s mother.
The DNA match fit, the shared matches fit and aligned with the England tree, Now I also had circumstantial location source document evidence ie POW records which proved that Leonard was in the same place as Hans's mother. So, blonde haired, blued eyed Leonard left a baby (Hans) in Germany! Unbelievable when you think that he was a POW and she was the wife of a SS Nazi Officer.
So Marie has a half sibling from Germany.
Leonard’s "Escape"/Migration to Canada/USA - Hawaii 1946
Immigration records revealed that Leonard and his mother emigrated to Canada where they moved then to USA. He stated that he was divorced, it's not known if this was legally done.
I found a newspaper article of Leonard’s second marriage to an American lady from Hawaii. This revealed that he went to college in Canada. He had become an interior decorator, and he was a former pilot in the Royal Canadian air force. [I have only found evidence that he was an interior decorator.]
They lived in Hawaii; they had a son and then they also divorced.
Another Interesting DNA Match – USA – Another Mystery Solved
Marie had another close DNA match, "Dave". Marie asked him if the name Leonard England meant anything to him and he replied to say “Yes”. This was the name written as the biological father on Dave’s father’s birth certificate before he was adopted.
Leonard had had an affair with a Hawaiian lady (Dave’s grandmother), the result of which was Dave’s father. Dave was over the moon because he had been searching for years for evidence of his grandfather. He knew the name “Leonard England” but didn’t know anything else about Leonard or his family history. I was able to share the tree that I had built and validated with document sources.
Leonard then went onto have another two children with yet another Hawaiian lady.. This time they lived in San Francisco.
Interior Decorator – Landmark Hotel Las Vegas
The last record I found about Leonard was that he did very well for himself following the American Dream. He became a successful interior decorator. He had an unfortunate encounter whilst working as the interior decorator of the world famous Landmark Tower hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
In June 1968 Leonard worked for Frank Carroll, also known as Frank Caracciolo who was the principle owner of the Landmark Tower casino. During a press preview Frank Carroll beat up Leonard and then "kidnapped" him, transporting him to the Dune Hotel, where he assaulted him again in the presence of others, including Carroll’s wife. Why? Because Leonard “Got fresh” with Frank Carroll’s wife. It sounds like something out of a mob movie scene. Leonard made a claim against Carroll which was later thrown out of court.
The Landmark Hotel and Casino
Leonard died in 1976 in Santa Barbara California. He had in total 6 children, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more out there.
This case demonstrates how an interesting story can be developed through the piecing together of documents, DNA evidence, and tree building.
Marie, Hans, Lucy and Dave now know their biological father/grandfather. Marie knows her father’s story and also has a tree, validated by sources, and so she knows her roots too.
If you are searching for biological family get in contact. My charges are minimal, but the results could be priceless!
Yvonne Lynn
www.findmybiofamily.co.uk
email: info@findmybiofamily.uk
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