John Bigelow 9 DODGE
16312.7481 John Bigelow 9 Dodge, son of Flora 8 Bigelow ( John 7, (Asa 6, David 5, David 4, John 3, Joshua 2, John 1) and Charles Stuart Dodge, was born on 15 May 1894 NY City, NY. John left the States abt. 1915 and became a British citizen, so he could join the R.A.F. He fought WWI & WWII. Was one of the Great Escapers at Stalag Luft III, but was also related to Winston Churchill. He married.Minerva Sherman, an American divorcee from North Carolina in 1929. (see below)
Sources:
The Bigelow Society, The Bigelow Family Genealogy,Vol II
pg. 492-493 child?.
Howe, Bigelow Family of America;
Bigelow Society records from family.
Flora Bigelow Dodge and her
family, in the UK
by
Ed Miller, Secretary of Ferring History Group
In
In
1912 Flora, her son John Bigelow Dodge (Johnny), and her new
husband, the Hon. Lionel Guest, came to London. Lionel’s
courtesy title ‘Honourable’ was due to his being the son of a
Baron, and Flora
acaquired this honorific when she married him. She also
acquired many aristocratic in-laws (Lionel was the grandson of
the Duke of Marlborough) and social and political contacts
(Lionel’s brothers were susuccessful politicians and his
cousin was Winston Churchill). They lived in a very
fashionable part of London and Flora (rather more than her
husband) figured in the social columns of the Times even
before the First World War.
WWhen that war broke out on 04 August 1914, Lionel, Flora and
Johnny were in Canada, for the wedding of his sister Lucie.
The three of them returned to London immediately. Flora wrote
to Churchill to ask if he could get Johnny a commission.
Although a US citizen at that time, Johnny was immediately
made a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Division, a naval
land force created by Churchill. He served in the same
battalion as Rupert Brooke and Arthur Asquith, the Prime
Minister’s son. Lionel joined the Royal Navy Volunteer
Reserve, then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, and ended
the war as a Major at the Air Ministry. Flora busied herself
attending many social and charitable functions (her
attendances and movements being reported in the Times) but
when Johnny was wounded at Gallipoli, she went out to Egypt,
where he had been evacuated, to bring him home and supervise
his convalescence. Later, Johnny transferred to the Army and
ended the war as a Lt. Colonel in France.
After the war, Johnny went on mysterious travels to the Middle
East and Russia (where he was arrested as a spy). These
travels are described in some detail in Tim Carroll’s book,
‘The Dodger’. Flora had an ever more busy social life,
constantly appearing in the ‘Court Circular’ column of the
London Times. Lionel returned to his business interests, and
Johnny to his work as a stockbroker.
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