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Sir George Grey Special
Collections, Auckland Libraries,
AWNS-19290731-46-4
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Sir Bradford Leslie, only son of Sir Bradford Leslie, arrived in Auckland from a harsh English winter on Monday 3rd February 1936 and died on Wednesday 5th February (2 days later) in private hospital in Wellington.
He was travelling with a group of military officers from the UK but had made his first journey to New Zealand in 1929. He was the cousin of Sir Harold Beauchamp, the father of the famous New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield, and possibly also had a brother also living in Wellington.
More well-known in United Kingdom, India and France, the younger Bradford was 18 when he followed in the footsteps of his father, pursuing a career in engineering. Father and son worked together during the 1880’s on the construction of the Jubilee Bridge in West Bengal, India, which was a huge project that took 5 years to complete. The younger Bradford continued to work in India until his return to England where he specialised as a consulting engineer.
1917 saw young Bradford being sent to France with the Royal Engineers during World War I, where he remained to work on salvage and disposal work once the war had ended. He later became chairman and chief engineer of the Madras Harbour Board overseeing what is now known as the Chennai Port, the second largest port in India. He was knighted in 1926, the year of his father’s death at the ripe old age of 95.
He was married twice, the first wife being Edith Stewart who died in 1929. There doesn’t seem to be any information about his second wife, other than the fact he had a second wife.
It’s unclear why his body was shipped from Wellington to Auckland, unless the original intention was to then ship his remains back to England. According to shipping records at the time, the “Doric Star” left Auckland on the 8th February (3 days after he died) bound for London and Sir Bradford was buried at Waikumete on the 7th so it remains a mystery why he is buried far from family in either the UK or New Zealand.
Anglican Division H, Row 3,
Plot 76: Sir Bradford Leslie (70) 1936 – Rtd Civil Engineer/Lt. Colonel
LIEUT. COLONEL
SIR BRADFORD LESLIE, R.E., O.B.E.
Born October 9th 1865
Died February 5th 1936
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Greatly Loved
Sources:
Matthew Gray's - Tales from the Crypt,
Grace's Guide, http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Bradford_Leslie_(1860-1936)
PapersPast https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ New Zealand Herald, 10/2/1936, Auckland Star 7/2/1936
Image: Distinguished visitor Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19290731-46-4
Presented by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete
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