Jean Heather Giles ¹¹⁸⁹

   Another name for Jean was Aileen Ireland.¹¹⁸⁸

  General Notes:

Paul Shurte notes:
Jean Heather Giles, (my Aunt) born October 28, 1914 in Salvation Army Home, reg. at Wickham Ref 42378, New Castle, New South Wales, Australia; died November 17, 2003 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; daughter of Molly but stepchild of Fred Dawson. Fred assumed full responsibility of Heather however Molly had difficulty because of her conscious.
During her life she met first James Brice approximately May or April 1930 in Casino, New South Wales, Australia while at the movie-pictures. He was born 1898 in Casino, New South Wales, Australia and a resident of Guyra, with James she had one child she named Noel - Brice was a police constable in Casino, NSW.
She met and married (2) Loftus Dolph Bonnick November 09, 1933 in Queensland, Australia. He was born about 1911 in Queensland, Australia and with him she is believed to have had five children which he would not let her take care of or keep when he made her leave.
She met and married (3) Joseph Fenwick 1946 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, Joseph was a Taxicab driver and helped Jean get on her feet while she restarted her life after Loftus tossed her out. Joseph expected nothing in return as he was Catholic and Jean had been married before but as time went by she married him anyway, but only in the courts/state system. Jean had with her two children that she had from another relationship when she met Dolph Bonnick and this was (4) Staff Willis about 1947 in Queensland, Australia. Staff was an American Service man that was absent without authorization. The relationship was very rocky until he was caught and transported back to America camp in handcuffs. Jean had two children with him while they hid out in the bush and once Staff Willis was returned to America he told her he didn't want anything to do with her and her brats. Dolph Bonnick married Jean regardless and she had more children with him but he refused to include these children in any family affairs - they were social outcast so Jean left Dolph Bonnick with the two children and Bonnick would not allow the other children to go with her. He threatened to kill her and her bastard whelps if she tried to come back.

Amber Stubbings notes:
My mum Kay Edith Ireland was born in Brisbane 7/02/48. Jean purportedly registered under the name of Aileen Ireland, which is the woman I knew as my grandmother. There was a court case about two years later when someone tried to undo the 'adoption' as it obviously was not a legal one. I don't know any more than that except that my mum thought it may have been an American trying to gain custody. The adoption then was made legal and all papers and information buried away. We did not even begin searching for Jean until my grandmother passed in 1994. We found some siblings scattered through the Harvey bay and maryborough area. Alas they too never knew what happened to Jean and could not help us. Everyone was under the assumption that she had followed a soldier to the USA.

I was born in 1968, my father was an American I have never met. I was also born in Brisbane.

Robyn Shaw writes:

Paul Knight is the son of Kenneth Russell Knight and Margaret Aline Bonnick. Her mother was Jean, so I was told. Jean's father was Joseph. AND that was about it.

Paul was put into a home in NSW as his sister Karen died in 1967 at Newcastle and she was only 4. He said that broke up his family and he was put into a home. He had a younger brother but said he hardly knew him as he was in the home by then. I asked him the other day where was this brother and he had no idea if he was alive or dead.

The family has always been fragmented, and Paul does have a 'wife' in NSW, who he is either divorced from, or just away from, and his mother is still there as well. They don't have a close relationship but contact each other now and again and say hello. Paul's daughter has spina bifida and is in a wheelchair, and I have suggested to him many times that he go to see her, but he is on a pension of some sort and never seems to have the cash to do this.

Now I have always been searching for his family to give him a bit of closure, and have tried to find a Jean Bonnick, not a Jean Giles. He said she had a half brother called Giles, well that was his last name.
Then she had a full brother called Rick....I guess Richard, who died recently.

Robyn later added:
She was adopted by Aileen and Ernest Ireland in Brisbane.
She left there and went back home and met a James Brice, no idea who he is, and in 1931 had a son Noel James. He married and had a family, and only died last year at Goondiwindi.
His daughter is Diane who married Ray Wirth and they live in Toowoomba.
Another daughter is Kay who was also adopted by the same family, the Irelands.
After she had Noel in 1931, Jean met and married Loftus Bonnick/Bonique and all other spellings.
They eventually went around Hervey Bay to live.
They had quite a few kids but seems that did not work out, so she left Bonnick and went back to Irelands and met there a fellow from the usa army who was awl, and had, so family folk lore says, two children with him.
Left army man, kids I think went into homes of some sort, and Jean went back home again and got involved with James Fenwick. She married him, nsw bmd index, but she was still married to Bonnic They divorced in 1954 I think....nsw state records show.k.

Paul Shute later added:
I will try and gather some of my data together about my Aunt Jean - to be honest it will be hard as my vision is shot. I'm classed as legally blind but I argue the point however the walls and trees don't listen. My spouse of 43 years passed away and so I stumble over the newly created messes I make trying to get organized - what I can tell you is as a little boy in 1961 we arrived in Australia- we went directly to my uncles house we called Carl - apparently as time passed we discovered by comments and actions Carl was favored by grandma Dawson (Mary "Molly" nee Dawson "
We never knew of Jean or of her other name Heather because Molly forbid my mother (Dorothy Giles (new Dawson) Shurte from saying her name. Apparently as life goes on forgiveness and restrictions of social rules can occur- Molly in her 90s told me about heather jean and I talked to grandmother Molly for many sessions - you have to understand I'm living then on the Great Lakes doing search and rescue during a period will in charge of stations with personnel under me so being at home making phone calls to Australia helped my home sickness but it was then costly - as I communicated I manipulated mom and Jean to reunite and Jean then imposed herself on her mother. Before Molly died she buried the anger she accused the girls of causing. Point one - Jean you call Jean Giles has that name because grandma had a relationship with the then constable (police office) that toyed with her (let's just say he rubbed the Jennie until he got the lamp to produce smoke) - anyway heather jean was born and not a lot of love was given to her.
When 13 Molly bonded her out and her wages were to come to Molly- the same happened to Dorothy when she turned 14 and it was the act of Japan that got mom free from bondage if she served in designated war zone
After Jean was in bonded position she made same error her mother did or let's put it this way - some asshole decided to take advantage of a young girl and did so and she became pregnant - a boy was born - his name was Noel - we were taught to call him uncle Noel so grandma didn't know who we were talking about. When Noel was about four Molly made up her mind if Jean was to work Molly was going to care for a baby boy so she forced granddad to put him up for adoption.
Granddad knew a couple that wanted a child and they took and trained Noel about farming - Noel took some heavy duty beatings from the strict adoptive parents and eventually ran away - asS time passed he became what I call the true Australian stockman - as well as many other things - he became a part of Australia unsung hero's- he married miss Lane and lived in Bungunya but I would guess she had passed by now - she had dementia very bad when I saw her uncle Noel looked as old as I feel today
He had kids and grandkids
As far a Jean heather Giles goes she did run off with a man as she told me and had children with him - he had some kids of his own and she grew to love all of them but out of the blue one day he just told her she's out
She said she had a few children but the men took them
One man that promised to marry her was an American and went awol he was sent back to America and abandoned her and kids
The second guy just wanted a babysitter- but she loved him and the kids he took the children and used the law to make it so she could never see them again
The last man she was with was a taxi driver and she loved him forever even after his death. She said he was the only person that hugged her besides my mom before they went to sleep and when they wake up
You have to understand two girls in one house - one is Ligament, and the other is il-ligament - one seems to be handed everything, and the other denied all - but there is a story not told by poor Jean Heather - She was treated unfairly by my grandmother and she admitted to that when she was in her later 90s.
Jean Heather never wanted to give up her son Noel (we called him Uncle Noel, but he really was our cousin). A daughter was born after my mother was born but she died shortly thereafter and then a daughter (named Pauline) was born - my mother named me after her and my fathers fried killed fighting in Pacific.

  Noted events in her life were:

• connection. ¹¹⁸⁸

Jean had a relationship with James Brice. (James Brice was born in 1898 in Casino, NSW Australia ⁵⁴⁶.)

Jean next married Loftus Dolph Bonnick on 9 Nov 1933 in Brisbane, Queensland Australia. (Loftus Dolph Bonnick was born on 4 Dec 1915 in Brisbane, Queensland Australia ⁵⁴⁶ and died on 12 Dec 1982 in Harvey Bay, Queensland Australia ⁵⁵³.)

Jean next married Joseph Alphonsus Fenwick on 24 Dec 1960 ⁵⁵³.^,1189 (Joseph Alphonsus Fenwick was born in 1914 and died on 26 Sep 1978 in Newcastle, NSW Australia ⁵⁵³.)

Jean had a relationship with Staff Willis in 1947. (Staff Willis was born circa 1910.)