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,
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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