Jack Livingstone Gilding How he got his name The story about how Jack Livingstone Gilding got his name (and how he nearly died in the snow at an early age) Written by his sister Fay Gale, March 1999

Jack was born at the Yongala manse on New Year’s day 1919. Jasper rang the doctor as soon as Kathy went into labour. They had phones but no cars. The doctor came from Jamestown in his horse drawn buggy. But he did not know if he would there in time, it being a long way by horse over rough tracks and it was her second child. So he gave Dad instructions in case. First get the copper (outside in the back yard where they washed clothes) really boiling and keep stoking it. Get lots of rags, sheets whatever and give them a good boil. Dad’s main memory is cutting wood and keeping the copper boiling while little Joy "helped" The doctor did arrive in the nick of time as a boy arrived. Kathy had decided to call him Jack after her brother who died at Gallipoli in August 1915 - a true Aussie. As you will see from Aunt Marj’s notes she did not know Jack’s name. He was christened John but never called from the day of birth, so of course she did not know a nickname . He already had it by the time she was born.

His (Jack senior) funeral notice in the paper reads

"THE LATE PRIVATE PENGELLEY

Mr. and Mrs. J.Pengelley, of Meningie, has (sic) been officially notified that their son, Private J. Y. Pengelley, was killed in action during August, 1915"

His father John Pengelley the scoundrel was also called Jack always. The inscription he put in his present to his wife for her 21st birthday reads

"Mrs John Pengelley from Jack 1881 On her birthday June 21st with a lovers compliments
Crystal Brook South Australia"

The gift was John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Rather prophetic since he let her with 8 children and another on the way. Deirdre took that book from Kathy’s when Kathy was living at Royston Park and Deirdre was living with Wes and Ruth during her wild period. I hope she still has it.

The Livingstone bit now. Jasper and Kath planned to go to the mission field and had applied for Africa. They read everything they could on Africa and joined the Sudan United Mission. But when Jasper went for a medical test he had eczema and they would not take him They were bitterly disappointed and talked about it quite a bit. Which is why the name Livingstone and why Kathy took up being missionary correspondent to get the experience as it were second hand and that is how we came to have Edna as a foster sister.

But Jack Livingstone Gilding nearly did not make it out of Yongala. It is the coldest place in SA and periodically gets quite heavy snow falls. After one such fall overnight Joy woke up excited to see the ground was all white and took her toddler brother outside to play in it. Kathy remembers going out to find Jack almost buried up to his head in snow. It frightened Kathy . But Jasper stoked the kitchen stove until they had warm water to thaw Jack out.

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Last updated: 21 April 1999
URL: http://www.gilding.com/jlg/jlgname.htm