"Bill" Louis Theodore Munro NIVEN
Born 22 October 1920 in Swan View, Western Australia [P52]
Son of "Sam" Samuel John Morris GREEN and Mrs Annie NIVEN nee MUNRO [P52]
When he was born his mother was a 44 year old widow and his father a married and neighbouring farmer in Carnamah [P52]
His mother signed a consent for his adoption on 4 April 1921 [P52]
He was adopted by William John Harold ROGERS and Florence Mary WHIGHT [P52], who'd married in Queensland in 1906 [242]
His surname then changed to ROGERS [P52]
Grew up in Perth, Western Australia with his adoptive parents and three sisters[P52] Beryl, Mavis and Roma [39: 21-Nov-1935]
Attended the Norwood State School in Highgate, Inglewood State School in Mount Lawley and then Perth Boys School [P52]
His adoptive mother tragically died [P52] at the age of 47 on 20 November 1935 [2] after being hit by a car [P52]
The following year, in 1936, his adoptive father was remarried [P52] to widow Mrs Millicent Elizabeth HIRON [15]
He didn't know he was adopted until much later in life but is believed to have felt unsettled in his childhood [P52]
At the age of 15 he stowed away on the steamship Devon which was bound for Ceylon (the former name of Sri Lanka) [P52]
He was discovered and returned home however made another attempt and reached Port Kembla in New South Wales, Australia [P52]
This marked the start of his life in the Merchant Navy and he visited New Zealand, Singapore and China [P52]
At the age of 17 he reached San Francisco in the United States of America, after which he made his way across America [P52]
In 1938 he stowed away on a ship in New York bound for the United Kingdom and then worked on British coastal freighters [P52]
He was aboard the steamship Barn Hill when it was bombed by German forces and sank in the English Channel in 1940 [P52]
In 1944 during the Second World War he joined the 1st Parachute Squadron of the Royal Engineers, a part of the British Army [P52]
Married (1) Glenys Marion OSBORNE in 1940 [P52] in London, England[21] however they separated around 1948 [P52]
In 1949 he returned to Australia, settled in Melbourne and began working for Trans Australia Airlines [P52]
Resided of late in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia with his third wife Gloria and son Michael [P52]
Father of Geoff, Claire, Paul and Michael [P52]
Died 29 August 2013 in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, Victoria, Australia[P52]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'Louis Theodore Munro Niven' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 20 April 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/louis-theodore-munro-niven [reference list] |
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