Leonard Arthur HOOKINS was born on 13 January 1890 in Nottingham, the 5th child born to William HOOKINS and his wife Ellen Jane (nee FISHER). His father was a Minister in the Methodist Church.
The whole family of 7 seems to be strangely missing from the 1891 Census although Leonard's father's ministry took him to Belfast in 1890 so the family could have been together there. 
William & Ellen with from left Gertrude, William(standing) Leonard, Ethel, Bernard
10 years later the 1901 Census finds the family back in England living at 27 Steade Road in Eccleshall, Sheffield.
Leonard lived there with his parents + 5 siblings as 2 others had been born and one other was not now present with the family as he was in the armed forces.
27 Steade Road, Eccleshall, Sheffield
Just 3 of the 7 children were with their parents in Torquay in the 1901 Census. One sister and one brother had married since the previous Census and both Leonard and another brother could possibly by now have joined the Army.
Leonard was a Private in the North Lancs Regiment Service No 33795 and later was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Berkshire Regiment serving in France in 1916. He also seems to have been attached to the 3rd Berkshire Regiment in May 1918.
In June 1918 he married Winifred ALCOCK at the Albert Hall in Manchester which was a Wesleyan Chapel where Leonard's father was a Minister. Their only child Joyce was born in 1920 with whom I had regular correspondence for a period of 20 years prior to her death in 2019.
In 1934 when he was the informant at the death of his mother, Leonard's address was shown as Canterbury Drive in Prestwich, but by the time of the 1939 Register (Leonard's name being transcribed as HOSKINS) he was living at 3 Hazel Grove in Bramhall with Winifred + a blanked out entry which was probably Joyce.
Winifred died in Bramhall at the beginning of 1970 and Leonard almost 2 years later at the end of 1971 also in Bramhall. He is believed to have died just 3 days after his daughter arrived to visit relatives in South Africa for Christmas.
Leonard and his siblings left-right Leonard, Doris, Ethel, Bernard, Gertie, Willie, Cuthbert
