Difference between revisions of "Yvonne Gillham Jentzsch"

Revision as of 14:18, March 25, 2012

Yvonne Gillham Jentzsch
Founder of Scientology's Celebrity Center
Born	Yvonne Doreen Harding-Wilson October 20, 1927 Toowong, Queensland, Australia
Died	January 23, 1978 (aged 50) Clearwater, Florida, United States
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Scientologist
Years active	1954-1978
Spouse	Peter F Gillham (m. 1952-1971) Heber C. Jentzsch (m. 1972-1978)
Children	Peter (born 1953) Terri (born 1954) Janis (born 1956)

Yvonne Gillham Jentzsch (October 20, 1927 - January 23, 1978) was a major figure in the Church of Scientology. Yvonne was the founder of Scientology's Celebrity Centers. She was one of the most beloved people in Scientology. Yvonne devoted practically her whole adult life to the church, but sadly passed away at the early age of 50. Here-in lies the official family authorized biography of the lady affectionately known as Yvonne.

Lineage

Yvonne Doreen Harding-Wilson was born into a family that had a proud heritage of very important and prominent people of Australia.

Great Grandfathers

George Rogers Harding (December 3, 1838 - August 31, 1895). The only son of an English Vicar. He wrote and had published his first book of law in 1860, moved to Brisbane, Queensland in 1866 and rose to the position of Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. With his first wife he had fifteen children, twelve of whom survived. His brother-in-law also had a law practice in Brisbane and owned two of the newspapers there. The Harding's were well known for their banquets and entertainments at their expansive home^[1]. Prince Albert and Prince George were entertained by the Harding's during their visit to Brisbane in 1881. Family members still have pieces from the 250 piece gold plate dishes that were made just for their visit. Justice Harding published six more law books prior to his death at 56 years of age.

Walter Horatio Wilson (July 15, 1839 - February 28, 1902). Minister of Justice for ten years, Supreme Court Justice from 1866, Postmaster General and later the Minister of Education for Queensland^[2].

Grand Uncles

George Rogers Harding. Eldest son of Justice Harding. Justice of the Peace for fifty years. Owned one of the first cars in Queensland and the eleventh in Australia.

Walter Charles Harding. Third son of Justice Harding. Law practice for forty five years. Member of the old Toowong town council, responsible for the establishment of Anzac Park and the trees that he planted there in memory of the soldiers who fought in World War I.

Grandfather

Walter Frederick Wilson. Son of Walter Horatio Wilson. Judge of the land court and member of the Toowong Shire Council. Married to Ada Ethel Harding-Wilson, forth child of Justice Harding^[3]. Their children were: Ethel Maud, Walter Horatio, Lionel (Yvonne's dad), Arundel Frederick Horatio and Ralph.

Uncle

Frederick Joseph Docker. He was known to the family as Eric as he was married to Ethel Maud (Lionel's sister). The Docker's were a prominent family in Sydney, Australia. Eric's grandfather was Joseph Docker, who was a surgeon, a politician and a landowner in Sydney. Eric's uncle was Judge Ernest Brougham Docker, who was a district judge. Eric was an author, having published two books, and a noted associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Australia).

Parents

Lionel Sandys Harding-Wilson (February 8, 1893 - April 21, 1950). Born in Toowong, the second son of Walter Frederick and Ada Ethel Harding-Wilson. He went to work at the Head Office of the Queensland National Bank Ltd. on February 24, 1913. During World War I he enlisted in the 1st Australian Division on August 18, 1914 (the very first day that enlistment opened in Brisbane, being one of the "first Anzacs") and served until 1918. He was seriously wounded on May 6, 1917, but healed well enough to go back to work as an officer in the Branch Accountants Department of the Q.N. bank2. a colloquial name for the reactive mind. This is what the procedures of Scn are devoted to disposing of, for it is only a burden to an individual and he is much better off without it. (Scn AD)...more on January 13, 1921. A car engine fell on his chest reopening his old war wound, rendering him an invalid and forcing him to take an early retirement on March 31. 1945. He died at the early age of 57 and was cremated.

Lionel Harding-Wilson served his country in the following conflicts;

1. Egypt. On September 24, 1914 his unit was shipped to Egypt aboard the Transport A5 S.S. Omrah, arriving December 2 as a member of the 9th Battalion (the 9th was the first one sent onto shore).
2. Gallipoli Campaign. April 25, 1915 - withdrawal, December 19/20, 1915. Lionel was one of the first soldiers on shore on April 25, 1915, arriving at 4:30 am at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli. (Lionel was treated for diarrhea/dysentery twice; August 23, 1915 to September 8, 1915 at the Australian General Hospital . Lemnos Island, Greece, near Gallipoli. Then September 22, 1915 - October 8, 1915 at the 2nd General Hospital, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, England. January 1916 Lionel was admitted to the hospital in Cairo for Mumps, rejoining his unit on March 6, 1916.
3. France and Flanders. July 23, 1916 - September 3, 1916, Battle of Pozieres. Lionel was wounded in the buttocks on July 23, 1916 and was sent to Brook War Hospital, London, England from July 27, 1916 - October 14, 1916. He rejoined the 9th Battalion Australian Imperial Forces in France on November 17, 1916.
4. France. Lionel fought in the following battles in France, November 17, 1916 - May 6, 1917;
   1. Capture of Ligny-Thilloy. February 25, 1917 - March 2, 1917. On March 24, 1917 Lionel was made a temporary Corporal. (Noted in Lionel's war record: On February 25, Cpl. Wilson was in command of a bombing team, worked down a portion of the enemyWhen a person is an avowed and knowing enemy of an individual, a group, project or org, a condition of enemy exists. (Modern Management Technology Defined (C) 1976).'s trench and established a bomb-stop while under heavy artillery and machine gun fire)^[4]
   2. German attack on Lagnicourt, April 15, 1917.
   3. Second Battle of Bullecourt, May 3 - May 17, 1917. During this battle, on May 6, Lionel was seriously wounded with gun shot wounds to the chest. The small bible that he kept in his left chest pocket took most of the bullets and saved his life. He was left for dead on the battle field and not discovered until the bodies were being cleared off of the field. Lionel was promoted to Lance Corporal on May 7, 1917 and ended up at the Edmonton Military Hospital in England on June 7, 1917.

Irene Joyce Wotherspoon (August 23, 1903 - 1980). Born in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Wotherspoon. She was a nurse and was very involved, for over twenty five years, with the Red Cross; serving as president of the Toowong branch of the Red Cross in Queensland. On May 8, 1963 she received the International Red Cross Distinguished Service Award. In 1964 she was awarded a five month, around the world, tour meeting people that she knew or helped during her years of service to the Red Cross. During that trip she traveled to; Sacramento, California, Augusta, Georgia, Fort Gordon Red Cross Section, Georgia, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, DeKalb, Illinois, Lawton, Oklahoma, New York and the Worlds Fair, London, England, Rome, Carthage and Singapore.

Early Years (1927 to 1953)

Yvonne Doreen Harding-Wilson was born October 20, 1927 in Toowong, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia to Lionel Sandys Harding-Wilson and Irene Joyce Wotherspoon. Her parents, both of the Christian faith, were married at St. Thomas' Church of England, Toowong. (This was the church that both the Harding's and the Wilson's attended. Mr. Walter H. Wilson had been the music director for the church as well as having donated his organ to the church. Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Wilson and Yvonne's parents were married there. Yvonne's father and her sister were christened there as well. The church was located 1.35 kilometers (.84 miles) from Yvonne's family home). Miss Wotherspoon had married into a high society that she had not been raised in, nor was accustomed to. This situation would create friction in her family as she grew older.

During Yvonne's youngest years she developed her closest relationships with three people; her father, her aunt Ethel (Lionel's sister) and her grandmother Ada Harding-Wilson (Lionel's mother). Her grandmother, Mrs. Harding-Wilson, would continually make it a point to impress upon young Yvonne that she was not just a Wilson, but a Harding-Wilson! She lived across from Anzac Park at the corner of Dean and Wool Street, streets where most of the Harding's and the Wilson's lived or had lived; notably her grand uncles G.R. Harding and W.C. Harding. When Yvonne was a little over three years old her sister was born; Margaret Gwendoline Harding-Wilson (b. November 4, 1930 Toowong d. 1986? Toowong).

Yvonne was christened on February 6, 1932 at St. Barnabas Angelican Church, Ithaca, 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) from her home. Her Godparents were uncle Arundell (Lionel's younger brother), aunt Ethel (Lionel's sister) and aunt Marj (Lionel's cousin). One month later Yvonne was in the hospital where she had her tonsils and adenoids removed. She was 5 years 5 months old when, on April 15, 1933, she started school at Leumeah High School and Kindergarten, Toowong, which was 1.9 kilometers (1.2 mils) from her home. She was an adventurous young child as evidenced by this entry into her family scrap book - "April 18, 1934. Being now 6 years old took Margaret now 3 years for 4 mile walk along beach at Redcliffe. Mum & Dad had all the town searching for us, result - put to bed!".

Yvonne started her primary school on February 5, 1935 at St. Aidan's Angelic Girls' School, Corinda, which was 7.9 kilometers (4.9 miles) from her home. As noted in her scrap book, she was very active in school sports. While in Redcliffe, where the family had a second home, in May of 1937 Yvonne sprained her wrist while doing catherine wheels off of a boat. Her first boat trip was on December 17, 1938 where she was a passenger on the SS Canberra. She traveled to Sydney where she spent seven weeks visiting several of her aunts; her scrap book notes that she loved every minute of the journey! Within a year both of her grand uncles passed away, G.R. and W.C Harding.

On September 3, 1939 her scrap book notes that Great Britain had declared war on Germany. Both Yvonne and her mother became very involved with supporting the war effort. On October 13, 1939 Yvonne danced the Snow Dance at a party held in aid of the Comforts Fund. In 1940 her Uncle Eric Docker published his second book^[5] and dedicated it to his brother-in-law Lionel (Yvonne's dad). In May of that year Yvonne went to Sydney on the "Flying Boat" to visit relatives for two months, returning home on the Douglas plane. Yvonne played in her first tennis match on November 25, 1940 (13 years old at the time), St Aidan's won 41 games to 36. One month later her Uncle Arundell took her on a motor tour to Sydney and back, a distance of 1848 kilometers (1094 miles), camping out at night along the way.

During early 1941 Yvonne was attending school, going to parties and helping out the war effort with the Red Cross; she even had the chance to visit the U.S. Fleet when it came into the Port of Brisbane in March. Her uncle Ralph (Lionel's youngest brother) and grandmother, Mrs. Harding-Wilson, took her to see the squadron of U.S. Navy ships, which consisted of two cruisers and five destroyers. Afterwards they went to One Tree Hill where they met Rear Admiral John H. Newton (in command of the squadron), Commodore Spencer Louis and Captain Bowman, all of whom autographed her two American flags (which her family still has). Two days her family got an up close look at the USS Chicago and the USS Portland just before the fleet departed. Yvonne was very active in school activities and sports; going on her first hike in July of 1941, being chosen as captain of the netball team on August 23 and later as captain of the tennis team.

On September 30, 1941 Yvonne was confirmed by Archbishop Wand at St. Thomas Church of England, Toowong. A few days later she had a gangrenous appendix removed, which resulted in her celebrating her fourteenth birthday while still in the hospital! An entry into her scrap book notes that on December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. The effects of the war were felt by her family. Fifteen days later her uncle Arundell, as acting Company Sergeant-Major, answered the call up of garrison reservists. On February 15, 1942 her scrap book notes that Yvonne's dad had an air raid shelter dug in their back yard in casethe whole sum of past by-passed charge. (HCOB 19 Aug 63) of a bombing attack by the "Japs". By this time her mother, a nurse, had become very active with the Red Cross and as co-founder of the First Aide Papier Mache Auxiliary. Due to many shortages this group created many useful articles out of papier mache and shipped them to hospitals in Great Britain. This group also sent many other items that were needed, in particular knitted baby clothes, some made from wool, and food. Yvonne's mother supervised a group of 35 workers at the first-aid postA position from which a terminal operates in an org, where one knows that somebody is at. (FO 2200) at Sherwood State School as well as a similar number at the Comforts Fund.

By January of 1944 Yvonne, now over 16 years old, was a student at the University of Queensland, eventually enrolling in the Brisbane Kindergarten Training College; a branch of the University. On March 31, 1945, Yvonne's dad retired, due to health reasons, from the bank2. a colloquial name for the reactive mind. This is what the procedures of Scn are devoted to disposing of, for it is only a burden to an individual and he is much better off without it. (Scn AD)...more after twenty-five years of service. Around Christmas time of that year Yvonne and her sister spent some time at the Docker's (Lionel's brother-in-law) home in Cremorne. By this time Yvonne was becoming more and more independent, attending many social events. She was on the committee that put on the St.Aidans' Old Girls dance in June of 1946, where over 200 guest were expected to attend. She was also on the committee that put on the Kindergarten Students' Ball in August of 1946.

The highlight of 1947 was the United Service Club Ball that was held in August. This was a very prestigious event held at the newly purchased Montpelier building. The list of dignitaries that attended this event were long, which included; Governor-General (Mr. McKell) and his wife, Governor (Sir John) Lavarack and Lady Lavarack, Rear-Admiral G.E. Creasy R.N., Rear-Admiral H.B. Farncomb R.A.N. and many other officers of the armed services. Yvonne was one of twenty three debutantes who attended this event. All of these high society events were more that what Yvonne's mother was accustomed to. She developed envy and jealousy which was taken out on Yvonne when she returned home after being out on dates or events. Yvonne's mother was fastidious with her house keeping; guest's fingerprints were wiped off of the furniture before anyone had even left the room! So after Yvonne's outings her mom would require her to dust and clean the house before she was allowed to go to bed.

During college, Yvonne was captain of the women's tennis team. In December of 1947 Yvonne was one of fifteen students who graduated form the Brisbane Kindergarten Training College. Her report card consisted of mostly B's and C's along with this note - "Yvonne has a happy friendly disposition which endears her to children and adults. She shows a deep and sympathetic interest in the children and is alert to their individual needs. She is resourceful in her efforts to make their environment attractive and she enters happily into play with the children". After graduation Yvonne went to work at the Ashgrove Kindergarten class, about 5.4 kilometers (3.4 miles) from her home, eventually becoming its' co-director around her twenty-first birthday. It was around this time that Yvonne started writing a kindergarten feature for the Sunday Mail of Brisbane. In all, Yvonne wrote on and off for a period of eleven years; the family still has copies of over three hundred of her children stories.

On her twenty-first birthday Yvonne's parents threw her a little dinner party at their home. Afterwards she was asked to go for a walk with a friend up at the Toowong Progress Hall, where she found fifty of her friends all set with a surprise birthday party and dance in her honor! That same year Yvonne was at a party where she was the winner of a party game. The game consisted of all participants, in their turn, pulling a letter out of a hatA hat therefore designates particular status and duties in an organization. (HCO PL 22 Sept 70)...more and within sixty seconds reciting off as many words as possible that started with that letter. Many new words were created that night, but Yvonne was the clear winner with a record score of forty-five words! In November of 1948 Yvonne attended her first horde race and later attended the Melbourne Cup, which included for the first time a photo finish. Yvonne was always in the newspapers and was always immaculately dressed, as noted in the articles.

In September of 1949 her uncle W.H. Harding-Wilson (Lionel's oldest brother) passed away. In November Yvonne was captivated by the songs of "Show Boat" while on vacation with the Dockers in Cremorne. In November of 1949 Yvonne took her Ashgrove kindergarten class to the Petrie Terrace police barracks where, for two hours, the police treated the children to a picnic. The next month Yvonne held the annual Christmas tree event at her kindergarten, where up to sixty children were to attend.

Picture Gallery - The Early Years

Involvement with Scientology in Australia (1954 to 1964)

Picture Gallery - Scientology in Australia

• 

  The Euroa Kindergarten building (now a historical building), at 7 McGuiness Street, Euroa, Victoria

• 

  The Euroa Kindergarten building (now a historical building), at 7 McGuiness Street, Euroa, Victoria

• 

  The historical sign, in front of the old kindergarten building, Euroa, Victoria

Involvement with Scientology in England (1966 to 1967)

Picture Gallery - Scientology in England

Involvement with the Sea Organization (1967 to 1978)

Picture Gallery - The Sea OrgAbbreviation for Sea Organization. (Modern Management Technology Defined (C) 1976).

Scientology's Celebrity Centers (1969 to 1978)

Picture Gallery - Celebrity Center

Notes

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

1. ^ ^{a b} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rogers_Harding
2. ^ ^{a b} http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wilson-walter-horatio-9146
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.toowong.cemetery.org.au/images/Trails/Toowong%20Identities%20Tour%20Course%20B.pdf
4. ^ ^{a b} http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awm28/1/awm28-1-20part1-0118.pdf
5. ^ ^{a b} http://books.google.com/books/about/Foreign_exchange.html?id=VEwJAQAAIAAJ

References

• On November 28, 1930 Lionel Harding-Wilson started a family scrap book for Yvonne. A great deal of information about her early life was gathered from this family heirloom.