Name Change curiosity

[chrissiecruiser]

Hi all,

     My 1st cousin once removed, Kenneth Clifton MOLDE was born 22/6/1915 Camden, South Australia.

He enlisted as Leigh Kevin DAWSON on 2/2/1942, 2nd AIF.

Army records have him as Molde as he changed his name back by Statutory Declaration.

He died of exhaustion after an attempt to escape a "death march" at Sandakan, Borneo. He was shot in the elbow.

He lived at Norwood, South Australia in 1939, listed as a carpenter.

What happened between 1939 and 1942 to make him enlist in a different name?

Puzzling!

Chris

OK>>>I have just found on Trove that he was a thief, albeit a bad one as he was caught robbing people in 1933 and attended court.   Onwards!

[sparrett]

Criminal conduct may have extended to another family member.

A brother in trouble I think.
He got 9 months !
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35724351

Sue

[chrissiecruiser]

Hi Sparrett,

The Molde's were a tough family in tough times.    Several were boxers, one an Australian Champion and he toured England fighting.

Julius August Wilhelm Molde 1853-1924 watched as his wife wife's nightgown caught alight from a cinders iron, reading the paper by family stories.

His son, Ernest Ludwig Frederick Molde 1884-1957 was caught up in robbing people from a young age. As a kid he was caught, larceny, in 1900 and whipped.

His sons, the brothers Ernest Wilhelm, had 2 years probation, Leonard Arthur Leslie was the boxer, Albert John Eli was court martialled from the army in 1942. Don't know yet why.

So the whole family was hard.    A female cousin whom I met through doing the tree actually changed her name also to escape them.                          Got me thinking now.
She was terribly traumatised and couldn't speak of them.

So yes, the family did play a part in a great deal of heartache!

Luckily I wasn't from that side.

Cheers,
Chris