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Thursday, 18 November 2021

J.J. HUNT'S WILTSHIRE CAMERA, BY GEORGE M. BARBOUR published by Cromwell House, Exeter, 2021

   



       MY SECOND COUSIN GEORGE M. BARBOUR IS A WILD-LIFE CONSERVATIONIST 

AND RETIRED SCHOOL TEACHER  LIVING IN EXETER. 

        GEORGE  HAS RECENTLY PUBLISHED A SPLENDID BOOK ABOUT HIS GREAT 

GRANDFATHER, THE WILTSHIRE PHOTOGRAPHER J.J. HUNT, I AM FAMILIAR

WITH LOTS MORE OF THE STORY, AS RELATED BY MY GREAT UNCLE., THE 

PHOTOGRAPHER CECIL  HUNT, HIS WIFE MY GREAT AUNT OLIVE HUNT (NEE

 LEONARD), AUDREY BARBOUR(GEORGE'S MOTHER), AND MY  FATHER CECIL 

LEONARD. 


                                                                  



GEORGE'S BOOK IS PACKED WITH 100 BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS. IT CAN BE

 PURCHASED DIRECTLY FROM THE WHITE HORSE, MARLBOROUGH ON-LINE SHOP,


                                          J.J. HUNT ARCHIVE


                100 HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF MARLBOROUGH AND DISTRICT

                                  (Review by Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre)




                                                                    

















FROM MY MEMORY BANK:


        CECIL HUNT RAN A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS IN AL CAPONE ERA 

CHICAGO, WHERE HE WAS PUT UNDER PRESSURE BY THE MOB. HE AND HIS FAMILY 

RETURNED TO MARLBOROUGH IN 1933 TO HELP HIS FATHER MAINTAIN THE FAMILY 

BUSINESS. 

        

         CECIL AND HIS FAMILY (OLIVE, AND AMERICAN-BORN CHILDREN AUDREY 

AND KEN) MOVED TO PLYMOUTH IN 1936. CECIL LATER BECAME A CITY COUNCILLOR 

AND WORKED AT  MANADON NAVAL SCHOOL. 


      AT THE OUTBREAK OF WAR, KEN HUNT TRAVELLED TO LONDON, AS A TEENAGER, 

TO  ENLIST IN THE U.S. MILITARY. HE LATER  OBTAINED A DEGREE IN BUSINESS 

AT  COLUMBIA, FINANCED ON THE G.I. BILL, BEFORE RETURNING TO EUROPE AS A 

SALES EXECUTIVE FOR REMINGTON RAND.


       KEN HUNT MARRIED A FRENCH DOCTOR OF MEDICINE, AND THEY RAISED FIVE 

CHILDREN WHO VISITED PLYMOUTH FROM TIME TO TIME. KEN DIED TRAGICALLY IN 

NEW YORK DURING THE MID 60s, AND IS STILL SORELY MISSED BY THE FAMILY.

 

       CECIL AND OLIVE HUNT'S ELEVEN GRANDCHILDREN SPAWNED  A LARGE,

SUCCESSFUL DYNASTY. AUDREY AND HER FAMILY (SIX CHILDREN) LIVED 'KITTY 

CORNER' FROM ME IN MANNAMEAD, PLYMOUTH, AND CECIL AND OLIVE LIVED IN A 

COTTAGE ON NEARBY THORNHILL WAY. 


       WHILE AUDREY WAS A PUPIL AT PLYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (IN ABOUT 

1939) SHE MET UP WITH MAJOR MICKEY  BARBOUR, A MILITARY DENTIST. THEY WERE 

SOON MARRIED AND THEIR FIRST CHILD JANETTE WAS BORN IN 1941.


       AS BRANCH MANAGER FOR CLAUDIUS ASH (LATER AMALGAMATED DENTAL) MY 

FATHER, CAPTAIN CECIL LEONARD KEPT MICKEY'S ST. BUDEAUX  DENTAL PRACTICE 

WELL SUPPLIED FROM HIS DEPOT IN REGENT ST,, AS THEY RAISED THEIR FAMILIES 

(MINE ND GEORGE BARBOUR'S) DURING THE 1950s to 1970s. 


        MICKEY WAS A DENTIST  OF THE OLD SCHOOL .HE REVIVED THE FORTUNES OF 

THAT SIDE OF  THE FAMILY. AUDREY'S PEKE CHUNKY CHU WAS A CHARACTER TO BE 

RECKONED WITH IN THEIR LARGE HOUSE OVERLOOKING THE SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

BOWLING  GREEN ON WHITEFORD ROAD. CHUNKY WAS FED WITH THE PRIME 

CHICKEN.


       MAYBE I WAS THE FIRST MEMBER OF THE FAMILY TO GO BACK TO CHICAGO. IN 

OCTOBER 1980, I PRESENTED A SEMINAR ON BAYESIAN STATISTICS AT THE 

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, AND STAYED IN THE ALT-RIGHT QUADRANGLE CLUB. 


I TOLD MY HOST ARNOLD ZELLNER THAT I WAS THE FIRST MEMBER OF MY FAMILY

TO RETURN AFTER MY GREAT UNCLE WAS 'DRIVEN OUT' BY AL CAPONE !! ARNOLD

THOUGHT THAT I WAS 'LIGHT ON LUGGAGE AND HEAVY ON IDEAS' (SINCE I'D PACKED

 MY GEAR INTO A SMALL RED SPORTS BAG). WE LATER FOUNDED ISBA (THE

 INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR BAYESIAN ANALYSIS) TOGETHER../



                                                                         



 

                                                                       


                             

                             

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