#5 Cecil GINSBERG Siblings

derek4440
Oct 28, 2024
22 min read

GINSBERG, CECIL SIBLINGS Not pretty but what a voice. I was first introduced to Etta JAMES by Mozart aka Kevin MINNS, so named because of his ability as a pianist. He is also a good friend to all our family

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cbOl96RFM

Nobody sings this like Etta, not had an easy life, but she had an amazing voice, it really dug right into your soul. ********************************************************************************************

My Fathers Parents were;

Bernard GINSBERG Born 1/MAR/1856 RUSSIA, Married 17/DEC/1884 Belgrave Street Synagogue, LEEDS Sarah Levi ZAGOFSKY Born abt 1866 SUVALK, RUSSIA, Died 11/AUG/1945 47 Bexley Grove, LEEDS. Bernard Died 14/DEC/1940 47 Bexley Grove, LEEDS.

Moving to my father’s siblings, of which there were 10 plus my Father a number of which I never met, for instance

1) Gertrude GINSBERG who was born in MANCHESTER 19/NOV/1885 & died there before she was 1 year old.

2) Morris who was Born in LEEDS on 15/MAR/1887 LEEDS Died 21;AUG/1914 LEEDS Age 27 years old He was known by his Hebrew name of Moses & it is under this name that he is commemorated on his Headstone. His younger Brother Samuel who was killed in the Battle of the Somme is also commemorated on a separate tablet laid on Moses’ Grave. He was a Tailor & Married Annie WOLFE in LEEDS 22/MAR/1913, They lived at 23 Beaufort Place. When Morris died Annie was pregnant with their second child.& moved back to her parents & lived with them at 56 Crawford Street, & eventually moved to 84 Kedelston Road off Street Lane.

Photo Headstone Morris Moses GINSBERG Remembering his Brother Samuel GINSBERG

Their eldest child, Harold GINSBERG Born in LEEDS on 4/AUG/1913 Died 5/AUG/1993 NEWCASTLE Age 80 years old was originally an Upholsterer, but became a Betting Shop Manager when he moved to Longbenton, NEWCASTLE in 1956, where his wife Margaret Iris BEECH was from. Margaret wasn’t Jewish & none of their four sons were brought up Jewish. Ironically Margaret was a nurse & worked at the Herzl Moser Jewish Hospital on Leopold Street, in Chapeltown, LEEDS, & quite possibly was working there when I had my Tonsil’s & Adenoid’s out when I was about 4 years old. Of their 4 sons the only one I ever spoke to was the youngest, my namesake Derek GINSBERG Born LEEDS 2/APR/1953, but he wasn’t really interested in meeting, even though I was prepared to see him in BISHOP AUCKLAND, where he lived. The other brothers had no interest in speaking or communicating in any way, so though I have found their details & their children’s, I haven’t included them here.

Derek GINSBERG

Morris’s daughter, Maisie GINSBERG Born LEEDS 22/MAR/1915 Died 23/SEP/1992 LEEDS Age 77 years old was a Draper’s Shop Assistant, Married Samuel PLIENER (aka Shim) in LEEDS 29/APR/1933, they had two children, a Daughter & a Son
Audrie PLIENER Born LEEDS 28/AUG/1933, Died Abt 2012 HULL Age Abt 78 years old who Married Conrad SEGELMAN in LEEDS 28/MAY/1969, & went to live in HULL without issue. Though I hardly knew Audrie, she was very helpful many years later when I spoke to her by phone. ·
Allen Maurice PLIENER Born 1/MAY/1935 LEEDS Died 10/SEP/1999 LEEDS Age 64 years old. Became a Mathematician, & then a Computer Consultant. He Married Faye WALDEN in LEEDS on 8/JUL/1962. Though I must have met Allen I have no memory of him, which is a great shame.

Though I met Maisie I didn’t get on with her, which I think was because my Mother didn’t like her, & that effected my relationship with both her children. Though I knew Faye more or less in passing, I really came across her when I was taken to the Accident & Emergency at the Leeds General Infirmary following the car crash I had just before Xmas when my best friend Stuart lost control & crashed his car. Apparently when they were asking the usual questions even though I was seriously concussed, I told them I was Catholic, but Faye corrected my misspeak. Many years later when I met up with Faye again, she denied ever working at the LGI, & said I must be mistaken, that is until I was able to inform her of the date of DEC/1959, & she remembered she had spent 1 week at the LGI instead of St James where she’d done all her intern work. Allen & Faye had 3 children & 9 Grandchildren.

FayALDEN)

3) The next in line of my Father’s Siblings was Bertha GINSBERG Born LEEDS 3/MAR/1889 Died 5/OCT/1935 DUBLIN Age 46 years old who had a child Lily Born out of Marriage who only survived 2 months. Bertha Married Solomon GOLDMAN, who originally was a Tailor but in later life became a Bookmaker (Born in WARSAW), in LEEDS on 27/DEC/1913. Bertha was very glamorous, but sadly died at the age of 46 years in DUBLIN, which is where she lived & where she’s buried.

Photo Headstone Bertha GOULD

Their Daughter Doris GOULD Born LEEDS 21/MAY/1914 47 Bexley Grove (the same address as my Dad) she Died 19/MAR/1994 LONDON Age 79 years old. She was first Married to Sidney Gerald SIMON in LEEDS on 16/DEC/1936, who was the son of Benjamin SIMON, one of the many famous LEEDS Jewish clothing manufacturers. They lived at Lyngarth, Park Avenue, which is the road that leads down to Waterloo Lake at Roundhay Park. They had 2 Daughters Bertha & Kathryn who both went to live in the Home Counties. Doris Married her second husband Alex ABRAHAMS in HARROGATE 22/MAR/1951 & lived at 16 Fulwith Mill Lane, HARROGATE, which was next door to where we later lived at No 14. Though they were Married in LEEDS they had the Wedding Reception at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, LONDON (where our Son Sean had his wedding reception many years later). Alex owned Regina Fabrics in LEEDS, & he & Doris lived for a time in Arlington House, near the CAPRICE Restaurant in St James, LONDON. They had 3 children.

The CAPRICE Restaurant used to be a favourite of ours for Sunday Brunch, when we had a house in Market Mews, Mayfair. This was at a time when our youngest Daughter, Lisa, was very much into "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" & in particular liked Tim Curry who played the part of Dr Frank N Furter. This particular Sunday Lisa was at home in bed with Bronchitis, when we went to the CAPRICE, & lo & behold there was Tim CURRY having his lunch. We asked him if he would sign a Menu for Lisa which he did with the tag line, "Don't eat the Hamburger", which if you know anything about the show you will know what this means! Lisa loved it & had it framed.

Tim CURRY in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

4) Abraham GINSBERG Born LEEDS 20/FEB/1891 Died 25/JUL/1953 LEEDS Age 62 years old Married Gertie TAYLOR in LEEDS on 26/MAY/1921. Abraham was a Spice Packer at 20 years old, then an Auctioneer, then a Fancy Goods Traveller, & by 1939 he was Hosiery Dealer, (this seems to run in the family!) eventually becoming an Insurance Broker. Abe & Gertie became known as GARSON & had two sons.

Abraham GINSBERG

Their eldest Samuel GARSON Born 6/AUG/1922 LEEDS Died 8/JAN/1990 LEEDS Age 67 years old He Married Sybil Rae FREEDMAN in LEEDS on 3/JUN/1962. Samuel came to work at Hurst & Sandler Head Office when I had an office there, though we had no direct business contact. When Sybil & Sam Married they bought a house at 11 Falkland Rise, very close to where I lived as boy at 1 Falkland Mount. I got on OK with Sam, but we were never close.

Photo taken at Sam & Sybil’s Wedding Derek, Joan, Cecil, Ella, Leslie, & Maud

Photo taken at Sam & Sybil’s Wedding Jane, Mark, Unknown, Samuel, Sybil, & Unknown

His younger brother Leslie GARSON Born 29/APR/1927 LEEDS Died 29/OCT/1989 LEEDS Age 62 years old Leslie was a bachelor, & served in the Grenadier Guards (I’ve been unable to prove this, but I believe it to be correct) I am very indebted to Leslie who showed me inordinate kindness in taking me up to the North East to identify & claim my father’s remains & arrange to bring them back to LEEDS.

Leslie GARSON There are quite a few things that you regret doing, & even not doing, & one of these is to do with Leslie GARSON. First of all, I was never close to either Sam or Leslie, which I don’t think is anyone’s fault, it’s just that there was quite an age gap (Leslie 10 years older than me, & Sam 15 years), secondly, & more importantly. I can’t remember either Sam, Leslie or Gertie ever coming to our house, & can’t remember my Mother ever going to theirs. So, Leslie offering to come with me up to the North East to help me make the necessary arrangements following my Father’s death was an act of kindness made within a matter of hours following my Father’s demise. Leslie remained a bachelor & was an insurance broker, & later in life developed Multiple Sclerosis. He phoned me a number of years after my Fathers death, to ask me if he could arrange any insurance for me. I remember taking the call in my office, in Park Square, LEEDS which I leased from Martin MANN who was a friend & and an Insurance Broker, & of course arranged all our insurance. You can see I had a problem, but it wouldn’t have caused me a great problem to give Leslie some of my insurance, which wasn’t that much any way. Instead, I was rather short with Leslie, & even though I knew he had MS I wasn’t as kind or decent as I should have been. I’ve regretted my actions that day more than I can say, & you can tell from the fact that I’m mentioning it, that it still bothers me. Sam & Leslie were very close & when Leslie died in the October; Sam died in the following January. It is said that once Leslie died, Sam had nothing to live for. Finally, Abe used to come to our house as a mediator between my Mother & Father, though I wasn’t in the room when this occurred & really don’t know if it had any benefit, but at least he tried. Gertie his wife was the Sister of Jane who Married Mark another brother, but more of this later on.

Samuel GINSBER 5) The next in line was Samuel GINSBERG Born 29/OCT/1892 in LEEDS Died 2/AUG/1916 FRANCE Age 23 years old (who Abe’s eldest son was named after), like many Jewish boys & girls Sam when into the clothing trade & was a Tailor’s Fitter. When Sam was 24 years old, he enlisted in 1916 in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) & was in the 22nd Battalion. During the Battle of the Somme, Sam was killed on 2/AUG/1916 in Delville Wood, near to the village of LONGUEAL, FRANCE. The Battle of the Somme was the biggest Battle that the British Army had ever fought, & to this day has the unfortunate record of the biggest loss of life on the first day of the battle. Should you be interested in learning more of the Battle of Delville Wood then look at this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Delville_Wood

Battle of DELVILLE WOOD

Sam has no known resting place, in other words his remains haven’t been identified, & he is commemorated at the THIEPVAL Memorial, (Pier & Face 8 C 9 A & 16 A) together with 72,336 other missing British & South African servicemen who died in the Battle of the Somme with no known grave. I don’t know if this is sinking in, but this is 72,337 servicemen who gave their lives in ONE BATTLE with NO KNOWN GRAVE, this is in addition to the tens of thousands that are buried individually.

Samuel GINSBERG Commonwealth War Grave This gives one an idea of the horrific losses & the conditions where so many soldiers died, on both sides, with no known grave. Mind you the GERMANS, & don’t forget this is the First Word War, not the NAZIS, weren’t that bothered about their dead, they were generally just dumped into mass graves. I went with Michael LAND, who some of you know, on an organised POPPY TRAIL VISIT, through some of the battlefields in Northern FRANCE/BELGIUM, with the expressed view of visiting Delville Wood & Thiepval Memorial, among many other places. At both places, I was as far as I know, the first member of our family to visit, & at Thiepval Memorial I was able to say Kaddish & bless Sam’s soul.

Thiepval Memorial

GINSBERG Samuel

Private K/2102 22nd Royal Fusiliers 02/08/1916 Aged 22. Born Leeds 1892. Son of Bernard Born Sheffield 1861 and Sarah Levy Born Leeds 1866 Married 1884 Jews Synagogue Belgrave Street The Great Synagogue. CWGC 47 Bexley Grove Harehills. Husband of Tilly Labovitch Married 1913 New Synagogue Chapletown Road formerly New Briggate Synagogue. Samuel worked as a Tailors Fitter. Samuels Brother Abraham and wife Gerty Taylor named their son Samuel. Remembered Thieval Memorial Somme France. (British Book of Jewry 47 Bexley Grove)

Can you believe it but I've just found the above (JUL/2023) purely by accident. This Obituary of Sam, has a number of mistakes, which we must presume is information given by one of the Family.

Bernard was Born in 1856 RUSSIA, Sarah was Born SUVALK, RUSSIA, however what is a total surprise is that Samuel was Married, a fact unknown to me & apparently to everybody I've spoken to over the years.

I feel that this is a mix up between Samuel GINSBERG Born 29/OCT/1892 LEEDS, Son of Bernard & Sarah GINSBERG, & Samuel GINSBERG Born JAN/1882 MOSCOW, RUSSIA, Son of Barnet Paul GINSBERG & Tilly (nee LABOVITCH)

In Memory of the Fallen in Two World Wars,

The Six Million Martyrs and all who Died Defending their Faith The Memorial above commemorates Jewish Servicemen who Died in both the First & Second World Wars plus all Jews who were Murdered in the Shoah. The Memorial is in the grounds of the Beth Hamidrash Hagadol Synagogue on Street Lane, LEEDS. We found a number of Jewish Servicemen who had Died, but hadn’t been commemorated on the Memorial & managed to convince the authorities to allow us to place an additional plaque for them on the Memorial. They proved more difficult when we were able to identify over 20 more Jewish Servicemen who Died but weren’t on the Memorial. By this time I’d had enough of banging my head on a brick wall, so these heroes don’t have the recognition they deserve.

6) Nathan GINSBERG Born 30/DEC/1894 LEEDS, Died 6/SEP/1969 LEEDS Age 74 years old Though Nathan, Sam’s younger Brother, survived the war, he was never normal again. Like much in life when you are looking into something that happened over 100 years ago, there is often confusion, so I cannot be sure which of the following is correct. Nathan was in the clothing industry & at 13 years old (1911 Census) he was a Tailor’s Apprentice, & by 8/DEC/1914 had enlisted in 17th Service Battery, West Yorkshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion. Nathan then appears on 18/JUL/1916 as a Water proofer living with relatives at 3 Bell Street, Cheetham, MANCHESTER, (his Uncle Leon GINSBERG’S address) & enlisting on this date in 23rd Battalion, MANCHESTER Rifles. He is not the only relative that appears to have conflicting military history, as it appears more times than you would think.

Nathan & Rebecca GINSBERG

What is certain is that Nathan suffering from Shell Shock, tried to run away, & was given Field Punishment No 1, which is being tied to the wheels of an Artillery gun carriage, whilst the gun is fired. Nathan was never the same after this, as I know from meeting him a number of times. He apparently went to GLASGOW after being demobbed & Married Etty GOMOVITZ on 1/AUG/1920.

They had one child Julia, who eventually moved to TORONTO, CANADA, I either met her or her daughter Sandra when we were living in PALM BEACH (memory not as good as it should be). Unfortunately, Etty Died 11/AUG/1925, & Nathan & his daughter Julia eventually moved to LEEDS. Julia was Born 27/MAY/1923 at 42 Thistle Street South in the Gorbals in GLAGOW. This was a very poor area of the city. She Married Lawrence TAYLOR 21/DEC/1946 at the LEEDS Register Office & lived at 30 Samuel Street in LEEDS for a short time before Emigrating to CANADA. She eventually lived with Lawrence in Downsview, TORONTO. They had a Daughter Sandra Born 27/SEP/1948 who Married Howard PILSMAKER 9/SEP/1969 in TORONTO. They have two Daughters.

On the 14/MAR/37 Nathan Married Rebecca SALINSKY Born 19/OCT/1903 (Died 23/DEC/1989) Age 86 years old.

Nathan & Rebecca GINSBERG Wedding

They had a daughter named Mona, Born 14/DEC/1937 LEEDS Died 30/JAN/1938 LEEDS When I knew Nathan he worked as the Cloakroom Assistant at the Jubilee Hall in LEEDS, which was a very modern looking community centre, with a Ballroom, which was used as an overflow Shul on Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur. They had a large Billiard Hall there, & my Father went there from time to time, as I did when I was older to play Snooker. Natty also worked at his Brother Mark’s Cinema in Harehills.

Nathan & Rebecca GINSBERG ·

Harehills Picture House then & now

Emmanuel SALINSKY Born 16/APR/1925 LEEDS, Died 22/APR/2006 Age 81 years old. Rebecca gave Birth to Emmanuel long before she met Nathan, but Emmanuel, who I met several times, loved Nathan & looked on him as his Father. Emmanuel Married Phyllis GLASS 29/OCT/1949, & they had a son Alexander Born 20/NOV/1950, who is unfortunately living in a nursing home in BRADFORD. Though Emmanuel was only about 5 foot tall, he served in the Durham Light Infantry during World War II, & made the papers with his exploits in capturing a number of German’s single handily. After the war he went to ISRAEL & fought in ISRAEL’S War of Independence, & staid in ISRAEL until 1950. I found Emmanuel a very nice & modest man, & liked him immensely.

Emmanuel SALINSKY

Article in Paper about Emmanuel

Emmanuel SALINSKY En-Route to ISRAEL

Rebecca SALINSKY Born 1903 LEEDS was one of 9 Children to Solomon SALINSKY & Mary YESINOFSKY both Born RUSSIA. Rebecca had a Sister called Leah Born 1897 LEEDS who Married Simon IDUAS 5/MAR/1921 LEEDS. Their Son Harold Born 1923 LEEDS, was in the Eight Army "The Desert Rats" & Died at the age 19 years old at the Battle of EL ALAMEIN, in EGYPT.

Harold IDUAS Died EL ALAMEIN

In addition to Harold, Cecil DAVIES'S elder Brother Stanley DAVIES Born 1916 LEEDS, was wounded at the Battle of EL ALAMEIN & Died from his wounds 30/AUG/1944.

The Battle of EL ALAMEIN was in my opinion the turning point of WWII, Churchill was due to address the Lord Mayor's Banquet at the Mansion House on 10 November 1942. He spoke at length about the victory and made his famous claim that

"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning".

Looking back in 1950, Churchill wrote in his memoirs that: "It may almost be said, 'Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat'".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL-2yPyoRS6tdogDJ5Q8KBbYafOjwL0Yab&v=1-YtH2ETgnY

Rod Stewart & Amy Belle I Dont Want To Talk About It, one of our favourite performers, he always manages to give up & coming artists a hand without appearing patronizing, & at the same time always has superb musicians backing him

Maud GINSBERG Born 13/JUL/1897 LEEDS Died 10/JAN/1979 GLASGOW Age 81 years old By the time I met Maud she was Married to Leslie GOLDBERG (Born 8/AUG/1891 GLASGOW, Died 28/OCT/1956 GLASGOW), though I have no memory of meeting him. They were Married 3/JAN/1924 in LEEDS. Leslie was called Lazarus on his Birth Certificate, but became known as Leslie. He had a number of different jobs from Commercial Traveller, to Picture Dealer, to Traveller (Carpets) at which time he was living in INVERNESS, & finally a Turf Commission Agent ie a Bookie.

Maud & Leslie GOLD

Notice of Maud's Wedding with Levi ZAGOFSKY acting as "unterfuhrer"

I only met Maud a few times when she came down to LEEDS & staid at her parents. They had a son called

Harvey Arnold GOLD Born 7/FEB/1925 LEEDS, Died 2009 DUMFRIES, Age 83 years old who I must have met as a child but have no memory of? He Married Florence Mclean Dick CUTHILL 13/JUN/1962 STIRLING, without issue.

Maud & Harvey GOLD

I visited GLASGOW & with my friend Stan FEINBERG, who lived on the shores of LOCH LOMOND, we visited the various Synagogues & from them found the Cemeteries where the Family were Buried.

Sam & Leslie GARSON Stood at Back on Left

Ella GINSBERG Directly in Font of Them

Abraham GINSBERG Sat in Front of her & Maud to his Left

Maud & Ella’s (her younger sister) Graves were both badly damaged, & I paid for them to be repaired & the sight cleaned up.

Ella GINSBERG Repaired Grave I then set about tracing Harvey. I was informed that he now lived on GOZO a small island next to MALTA. I wrote to both the Police Chief & the Bishop in the hope that they might be able to help. I did receive a reply from the Bishop, to whom I’d made a small financial contribution, though nothing from the Chief of Police. I eventually traced Harvey & Florence to a small village in SCOTLAND called SOUTHERNESS, & wrote to him there. To ensure he knew I was genuine I enclosed photos of his Mother’s Grave before & after, & also his Aunt Ella’s who lived with his parents, later in her life. I received a reply written in block capitals on exercise book lined paper, obviously torn from a book with jagged edges, instructing me not to get in touch with him again as he wanted to have nothing to do with “those GINSBERG’S”. I did write back but never received a reply, & since then unfortunately Harvey has died.

Derek M. Guinness 124 St. Edward Place PALM BEACH GARDENS FL 33418 USA E-Mail Derek@guinnessmail.com 23 December 2003

Mr. & Mrs.Harvey Gold San Briali Sandy Lane SOUTHERNESS DG2 8BB

Dumfries UK Dear My name is Derek Guinness, originally GINSBERG, & I believe Harvey I am your cousin. My father was Cecil GINSBERG, who was your mother Maud’s younger brother. About three years ago I decided to research my family, & as I was an only child, with all my immediate family dead, I literally started from scratch. During my research I eventually found your parents graves in Cathcart Cemetery, where I visited & photographed their headstones. I eventually found our Aunt Ella’s grave in Glenduffhill Cemetery, & as you can see from the photograph this was in a very bad state of repair. I eventually managed to have this repaired, but due to changes in the law they were unable to have the headstone re-set vertically. However I thought this preferable to leaving the grave as it was. My reason for bringing this to your attention, is first of all to establish my “bona fides”, & secondly to demonstrate to you that I’m not asking you for anything, that is other than to make contact with you. There are now only three of Bernard GINSBERG’s grandchildren alive; Morris’s children, Harold & Maisie are dead Bertha’s daughters Lily & Doris are both dead Abraham’s sons Samuel & Leslie are both dead Nathan’s two daughters Julia & Mona are dead Gertrude, Samuel, Mark, & Mary Ella didn’t have any children as far as I know This leaves Maud your mother, Cecil my father, & Philip who was Barbara’s father. I’m in touch with Barbara who lives in Montreal, & in fact saw her in September, & I have seen her frequently over the last ten years or so. Joan, my wife & I, are leaving Florida in January for Australia where we will be meeting some more relatives we have recently found. They are related through our mutual Grandfather Bernard’s brother Philip, they are his daughter Bertha Pearl’s Children, Grandchildren, & Great Grandchildren. We will then be returning to Florida & from there to London in time for our eldest daughter to give birth to her second daughter in April. I would very much like to make contact with you & hope that you will reply to my letter. I would love to meet you both in Scotland when we are in the UK next year. May we take this opportunity of wishing you a belated Chanukah, a Merry Xmas, & a Happy & Healthy New Year. Yours truly, your cousin Derek M. Guinness

REPLY FROM HARVEY GOLD Derek M. Guinness 124 St. Edward Place PALM BEACH GARDENS FL33418 USA

Tuesday, 03 February 2004 Posted Melbourne, Australia Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Gold San Briali Sandy Lane SOUTHERNESS DG2 8BB UK Dear I’ve received your note in reply to my letter of 23rd December 2003, & I must say how disappointed I am with your reply. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time & effort in tracing you, something which hasn’t been easy taking into account that I have never met you, nor knew much about you. I would have thought that sending you photo’s of your parents graves, together with photo’s of Ella’s, before & after I’d had hers restored, would have shown you my interest in our family was genuine, & I’m not one of that “GINSBERG lot” you refer to, whoever they are supposed to be. It would appear that you don’t think much of the GINSBERG family, & of course that is your prerogative. I don’t know if you or your wife have been hurt by them in some way, however you’ve certainly never been hurt or insulted by me, which makes me wonder why you have rejected my approach out of hand. I am sure you are aware I have written to you in Gozo & even contacted the authorities there in an effort to make contact with you, all to no avail. Harvey, you & I, together with Barbara in Montreal, are the only direct living descendants of Bernard GINSBERG & Sarah ZAGOFSKY, don’t you feel that it’s important that we meet? after all neither of us getting any younger. I’m prepared to come up to Scotland to meet you & Florence at a mutually convenient time. Though you mention that you will be in Malta for the summer, as I stated previously I will be in the UK from April, & I’m sure you won’t be in Malta from then until September, which is when I intend to return to America. You & I have a lot to talk about, but even if you, for whatever reason, don’t wish to meet, I still wish you a Happy 79th Birthday for 7th February 2004. I hope in light of what I have said you will reconsider, & meet me later this year. Yours sincerely Derek M. Guinness

Mark GINSBERG Born 4/FEB/1901 LEEDS Died 11/APR/1975 LEEDS Age 74 years old Mark Married Jane TAYLOR (Gerties Sister) 27/OCT/1927 LEEDS, without issue. The first time I remember seeing Mark was when my Mother took me to see him in Pantomime in DEWSBURY, I believe during the war. I can only remember him walking on stage at a fast rate, tearing up pieces of paper! Other than that, I cant remember anything else about the panto. I remember going backstage with my Mother, & Jane was there. I had the feeling I was in the way & we left quickly.

Mark & Jane GINSBERG

My next memory of Mark was when he had the Harehills Cinema & he allowed me to go in for free. This didn’t last too long because I managed to do a flim flam & smuggled my pal Gerry ZIFF in with me. When he found out Mark started shouting at me in the cinema & Gerry & I ran out. Walking back to Gerry’s home in Chapeltown, we were fooling about when Gerry threw a playful punch at just the moment, I was jumping on him. It caught me right on the nose, & before I knew it I was bleeding all over myself. This was after breaking my nose playing Rugby, & again going over my handlebars riding up little Switzerland, eventually led me to have my nose reset under anaesthetic, a few years later. I never saw Mark or Jane again.

Though I never saw Mark again, he used to buy some of his films for the Harehills Cinema from Warner Pathe, where Joan worked as the LEEDS Director’s Secretary. Mark used to go in on a weekly basis, & even though he knew who Joan was, he made a point of ignoring her. Gives you an idea of what he was like!

Harehills Cinema

Philip GINSBERG Born 5/SEP/1906 Died 21/JUL/1984 MONTREAL Age 77 years old Philip Married Jennie LEVIN 15/JUN/1933 LEEDS. Like many Jewish men & woman Philip worked in the tailoring trade, but unlike most of them he became a Cutter, which was seen mainly as a Gentile trade. Philip worked in the Cutting Department at Burtons main factory at Hudson Road for most of his working life in the UK, this was only a short walk from where he lived.

Phil in Burtons Cutting Room

Philip & Jennie GINSBERG Wedding

WEDDING PHOTO PHILIP GINSBERG & JENNIE LEVIN DATE 15th JUNE 1933

Photo gives you a good idea what everybody in the GINSBERG Family looked like in 1933

STANDING LEFT to RIGHT AGE POSSIBLY

Mark Ginsberg 32yrs
Female Unknown 18yrs Maisie Pregnant
Cecil Ginsberg 29yrs
Male Unknown 42yrs Leslie Maud’s Husband
Male Unknown 48yrs Solomon Bertha’s Husband
Male Unknown 20yrs Harold Morris’s Son
Female Unknown 43yrs Annie Morris’s Widow
Doris Gold (Bertha’s Daughter) 19yrs
Nathan Ginsberg 39yrs
Mary Ella Ginsberg 21yrs
Abraham Ginsberg 42yrs

SITTING LEFT to RIGHT

Jane Ginsberg (nee Taylor) 29yrs
Bertha Goldman (nee Ginsberg)? 44yrs
Bernard Ginsberg 72yrs
Jennie Ginsberg (nee Levin) 24yrs
Philip Ginsberg 27yrs
Sarah Ginsberg (nee Levy) 70yrs
Maud Goldberg (nee Ginsberg)? 36yrs
Gertie Ginsberg (nee Taylor) 32yrs

SITTING on FLOOR

Harvey Goldberg (Gold)? 8yrs
Samuel Ginsberg (Garson)? 11yrs
Leslie Ginsberg (Garson)? 6yrs

Apparently, Jennie was a fervent Communist when she was younger, & she & Phil became well known for their sympathies. This was OK in the thirties & even during the war, when Soviet Russia was our ally. However, after about 1946 Communists were no longer accepted, & Phil & Jennie made plans to leave the UK. They eventually sailed on 20/MAY/1948 on the Aquitania from SOUTHAMPTON to HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, eventually living at 8591 Outremont Avenue, MONTREAL, QC, CANADA.

PHOTO/GRANT, PHIL & JENNIE 1950 001

Their DaughteR Barbara Lesley GRANT Born 5/JAN/1941 LEEDS, Died 15/DEC/2012 MONTREAL Age 71 years old I remember my Father taking me to Phil’s house & me playing with Barbara as a young boy. Then she disappeared having gone to CANADA, & though I’m sure my Father must have received some letters from Phil, I never heard about them.

Barbara GRANT in MONTREAL

Many years later we heard from some distant friends (Raymond HARRIS) that they had just come back from visiting CANADA where quite by accident they had bumped into Cynthia VERB, who was a mutual friend of ours. They started the usual who do you know, & I my name came up. Unbeknown to me, Cynthia who now lived in VANCOUVER, had lived next door to Barbara when they were very young children & she mentioned that Barbara had been back to LEEDS & had looked for me without success. Part of the reason was she knew me as Derek GINSBERG not GUINNESS, so of course nobody knew Derek GINSBERG. One thing led to another & Barbara & her Husband David came to stay with us in MONTPELIER, LONDON, & that was the start of a wonderful friendship.

Barbara & David GOTTMAN

Barbara had Married David GOTTMAN Born 21/AUG/1939 MONTREAL on 8/DEC/1962 in MONTREAL & they had 3 Girls.

The Eldest was Susan Ferne GOTTMAN Born 28/SEP/1963 MONTREAL, who had a Son called Mathew Philip Solomon Noah GOTTMAN, Born 18/AUG/1985 MONTREAL, without Marrying Stephen WELLS who was Mathew’s Father. Mathew now has a boy & girls of his own.
Susan Married Barry James McLAUCHLIN 30/SEP/1995 MONTREAL, & they have a daughter Elizabeth.

Susan & Barry McLAUCHLIN Wedding

Obviously, Susan is Jewish & Barry is Irish Catholic so when they were Married they had the Ceremony in a Catholic Church with a Chupah in the middle where the local Jesuit Priest conducted the Catholic Wedding Ceremony, then up strides David who marries the couple according to Jewish Rites, Barry stamps on the glass, we all shout Mazeltov & that’s it. Can’t make my mind up if I agree to this sort of ceremony, but I accept it was all done in the best of taste & went down very well. Both Barry & his family are very nice people, & Susan is a really terrific person. The three of them came to LEEDS & we delayed going back to PORTUGAL so we could all meet at the Flying Pizza for lunch. Wonderful seeing them again.

Elizabeth Anne GOTTMAN Born 7/DEC/1965 MONTREAL Married John DAVIDS 13/OCT/1990 MONTREAL, & they have 3 Children all Born in the 90’s. Elizabeth in her early 40’s decided to become a medical doctor, & is now a practising doctor. John I believe worked in a Casino. They live in OTTOWA & have 3 adult children. Elizabeth & John have since divorced.

Elizabeth DAVIDS

The youngest Daughter Joan Gwendolyn GOTTMAN Born 24/MAR/1968 MONTREAL. Married Rene Sylvain GASSE ON 3/JUL/1999 at Barbara & David’s second home in WAYS MILLS. Rene who is FRENCH CANADIAN Catholic worked on Trapeze for Cirque de Soleil. Joan had Alexandre Grant GASSE 31/OCT/1999 who was born with Down’s Syndrome. Apparently, Rene couldn’t cope with Alex’s condition & walked out leaving Joan to bring Alex up on her own. Fortunately, David & all the Family have pitched in to give Joan the support she needs, & Alex the family he deserves.

Joan GOTTMAN Speech

Joan & Alex at PBG 2006

Barbara who was a very attractive, vivacious, opinionated & positive person had early Alzheimer’s, which completely destroyed her. I don’t know how David coped, & eventually Barbara went to live in the Maimonides Hospital, which specialised in Alzheimer care. During Barbara’s descent, David started seeing Dawna, who was an old friend & who’d lost her husband some years ago. David still maintained his care for Barbara, & always looked after her. David eventually sold his apartment & moved in with Dawna.

Unfortunately, Barbara died & we rarely see David, though we did have a telephone conversation with him when Susan & Barry were in LEEDS. We do miss the whole family as both Joan & I were very drawn to them. They are a lovely family & I personally felt very close to David, so hopefully we will speak if not see more of them in the future.

JOAN, DAVID & BARBARA AT HOME 001

Lastly, we have Mary Ella GINSBERG Born 10/JUL/1912 LEEDS Died 9/OCT/1974 GLASGOW, Age 62 years old known as Ella. She never Married & after her parents Died she moved to GLASGOW to live with her Sister Maud. She was a Physiotherapist & I believe also trained Harvey GOLD.