Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Emily Gwendoline Elizabeth PAUL

The reason I had trouble finding anything much on this lady is that she performed under the name of Gwendo Paul. Like her mother, she was an accomplished pianist and, like her mother, travelled to London to study. In late 1927, in Kensington, she married Harold Ching, a baritone with the Bristol Opera Company. In 1929, they travelled to Australia, gave concerts, and Harold took up a post teaching at the Melbourne Conservatorium. A son was also born, in Queensland, sometime before October 1929. In 1933, they returned to England and Harold began to study medicine while still performing from time to time. They planned to travel to Australia to visit family in about 1938 after Harold had completed his studies, but her father's death in 1937 intervened.

From the rather poor photos in the scanned newspapers, "Gwendo" was quite a stunner, and Harold wasn't too bad himself.

The most likely birth registration I can find for Harold is Harold Thomas CHING, September quarter 1906, Croydon registration district. 

I am now trying to dig up information on their life after 1937.

At Long Last - the Death of Dr Paul

From The West Australian of 20th March, 1937. I've been looking for this for some time, and now it has appeared. Dr Paul was the husband of Captain Townsend's youngest daughter, Frances Marie. The fact that they were travelling to England to visit their daughter might exlpain why I have been experiencing difficulty in tracing Emily Gwendoline Elizabeth Paul. Now it might be possible to check the incoming UK passenger lists and such like in order to fill in some details.

Wonders Never Cease

This morning's facebook message was from a grandson of Colin Townsend. Unknowingly, I was already 'acquainted' with him through the ABC Self Service Science Forum. It's not a terribly big world, hey?