Magnum Mania!

Sam, thanks for your PM. I believe your assertion regarding the Greenfield facility is correct - This was also my guess (vaguely) on where she might have been when I initially came across the (partial) address

http://www.niagaralutheran.org/content/ ... ield-rehab

So the address there is

5949-5979 Broadway St - Lancaster, NY 1408

She may have had family in the area, hence why she ended up in Lancaster. I'm trying to track down the original death notice from the newspaper - it might provide more information.

ThomasMagnum, what was her maiden name? I can have a go at finding out a bit about her background in England - don't know if I'll find much but I'll have a look. Thanks!

Thanks guys! It's nice to have the "team" do the work!

Louise wrote:ThomasMagnum, what was her maiden name? I can have a go at finding out a bit about her background in England - don't know if I'll find much but I'll have a look. Thanks!

Hi Louise,

I'm 99.8% sure it's Johnson - Her birth was registered in the Hammersmith district of London. The only way to know for sure is to sight the record itself (or get hold of her birth certificate)

GRO Volume 1A, Page 292

The record is physically located at

The Register Office Hammersmith Town Hall King Street London W6 9JU

Assuming it's the same Gillian, her parents were Greswold William Johnson & Gwendoline Ethel Johnson (nee Stacey). Their address in 1930 is listed as:

33 Emlyn Rd, White City, London W12 9TF, UK

That address is just around the corner from the Hammersmith Town Hall.

ThomasMagnum wrote:Sam, thanks for your PM. I believe your assertion regarding the Greenfield facility is correct - This was also my guess (vaguely) on where she might have been when I initially came across the (partial) address

http://www.niagaralutheran.org/content/ ... ield-rehab

So the address there is

5949-5979 Broadway St - Lancaster, NY 1408

She may have had family in the area, hence why she ended up in Lancaster. I'm trying to track down the original death notice from the newspaper - it might provide more information.

I was figuring it was a nursing care facility in the area. It is strange based on her history she'd wind up in NY outside of Buffalo.

I found some little tidbits. Her middle name was Doreen. She may have been naturalized in Louisiana. She may have married in Michigan. She may have died in Erie County New York. If anything is a repeat, I wasn't sure! Also her obit may have been in the "Hamilton Spectator" April 4, 2001!

Here is Gillian in "Gidget's Summer Reunion" The Hawaii portion starts at the 36 minute mark.Enjoy..Ha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DtcS1BHito

Great information. So glad to know more about her. She sure did live in many parts of the world during her lifetime.

The London address in the year 1930 is only a half mile from where James May from Top Gear lives. Maybe he could visit the Hammersmith Town Hall?

only 71 at time of death? I have a tough time with that one.........she looked 60+ during Magnum. 1929 seems wrong.

Seaver41 wrote:only 71 at time of death? I have a tough time with that one.........she looked 60+ during Magnum. 1929 seems wrong.

Well, she first arrived in season 3, figure shooting in took place in '83 when she would have been 54. Her face looks pretty unlined here, it's amazing what wardrobe and attitude will do for a character.

Hi folks, haven't been much on MM lately but I've recently been working on finding more info on Gillian - I'm happy to report that I've found her final resting place.

Couple of things first - some of the information I posted previously was incorrect:

Her Maiden name was Wells, not Johnson. Please ignore the previous information regarding her Parents & London address . (Although the rest of the info is correct)

Her address at time of birth is the following:

133 Battersea Rise, Wandsworth, London SW11, UK

Her mother was Phyllis Alice Wells nee Pullen (1900 - 1976) , her Father was Harold Augustus Wells (1900 - 1998) - They married in 1924 (Wandsworth, London, England)
They had 2 girls - Gillian and Valerie (1928 - 2004) who married a Canadian named Thomas Benton Davies (1926 - 2001)

This is their headstone



Location: Carlisle United Church, 1432 Centre Rd, Hamilton, ON L0R 2H0, Canada

The key piece of information which confirms that this is in fact Agatha is that her SSN (of the Gillian who died on March 31, 2001) matches the one that applied for U.S. Citizenship in 1961 who at the time was married to Mr Dobb. I was ultimately unable to sight the obituary from The Hamilton Spectator.

The reason why I think she ends up on the Canada after Hawaii (and ultimately dies NY State, just over the border) is because her sister and brother in law (who is a Canadian native) are living there and probably her only relatives left. Her mum and dad appear to have separated when she was young hence why they are not buried together. Her dad is buried in Poole, England. I believe he might have remarried at some stage but I haven't really looked into that.

I have been in contact with a relative of the Wells via email who sent me details which corroborates my theory.

I have also found out that her ex husband was previously married (as at 1958) - this is his obituary from 2008 which appeared in a Nevada newspaper



The wife mentioned in this obituary is in fact his 3rd. Also interesting to note that Gillian was married to a Vietnam Vet and how it all ties in to the show. His file shows 2 TOD in Vietnam with the USAF however I cannot confirm in which unit or where he was stationed.

Regarding Bayonne, New Jersey - The reason why they married there is: It was Mr Dobb's hometown.

In 1950 she moved to Australia. Her address given on her arrival is

11 Dafforne Road, London SW17 8TY UK

and this is the address given as to where she would be staying in Australia

C/O UK High Commissioner's Office, Canberra

There only thing that I could come up with is that she was working there as a secretary (she listed herself as a Secretary/Typist)! She must have applied for the job in London. I knew she worked with the Canberra Repertory Society as a prompter in 1952 so it makes sense.

See this article , where it talks about her leaving London in 1950 for Australia.

I only have one question: why didn't she just drop her married name her use her maiden name after 1977?

Excellent investigative work TM!

That's some super sleuthing there!

History is always interesting to me. You certainly did some deep digging here!

Thanks for taking the time and posting your findings. Great stuff.

ThomasMagnum wrote:Hi folks, haven't been much on MM lately but I've recently been working on finding more info on Gillian - I'm happy to report that I've found her final resting place.

Couple of things first - some of the information I posted previously was incorrect:

Her Maiden name was Wells, not Johnson. Please ignore the previous information regarding her Parents & London address . (Although the rest of the info is correct)

Her address at time of birth is the following:

133 Battersea Rise, Wandsworth, London SW11, UK

Her mother was Phyllis Alice Wells nee Pullen (1900 - 1976) , her Father was Harold Augustus Wells (1900 - 1998) - They married in 1924 (Wandsworth, London, England)
They had 2 girls - Gillian and Valerie (1928 - 2004) who married a Canadian named Thomas Benton Davies (1926 - 2001)

This is their headstone



Location: Carlisle United Church, 1432 Centre Rd, Hamilton, ON L0R 2H0, Canada

The key piece of information which confirms that this is in fact Agatha is that her SSN (of the Gillian who died on March 31, 2001) matches the one that applied for U.S. Citizenship in 1961 who at the time was married to Mr Dobb. I was ultimately unable to sight the obituary from The Hamilton Spectator.

The reason why I think she ends up on the Canada after Hawaii (and ultimately dies NY State, just over the border) is because her sister and brother in law (who is a Canadian native) are living there and probably her only relatives left. Her mum and dad appear to have separated when she was young hence why they are not buried together. Her dad is buried in Poole, England. I believe he might have remarried at some stage but I haven't really looked into that.

I have been in contact with a relative of the Wells via email who sent me details which corroborates my theory.

I have also found out that her ex husband was previously married (as at 1958) - this is his obituary from 2008 which appeared in a Nevada newspaper



The wife mentioned in this obituary is in fact his 3rd. Also interesting to note that Gillian was married to a Vietnam Vet and how it all ties in to the show. His file shows 2 TOD in Vietnam with the USAF however I cannot confirm in which unit or where he was stationed.

Regarding Bayonne, New Jersey - The reason why they married there is: It was Mr Dobb's hometown.

In 1950 she moved to Australia. Her address given on her arrival is

11 Dafforne Road, London SW17 8TY UK

and this is the address given as to where she would be staying in Australia

C/O UK High Commissioner's Office, Canberra

There only thing that I could come up with is that she was working there as a secretary (she listed herself as a Secretary/Typist)! She must have applied for the job in London. I knew she worked with the Canberra Repertory Society as a prompter in 1952 so it makes sense.

See this article , where it talks about her leaving London in 1950 for Australia.

I only have one question: why didn't she just drop her married name her use her maiden name after 1977?

Phenomenal Work! That's one Golden Tigers Cap to you!

Nice home run TM!!!
Excellent work.