Welcome

You have found the autobiography of Alfred Gilkes. He started writing this in 1975 when he was living in Paradise, California and kept on writing until 2006.

It documents his life growing up in Guyana, the death of his mother and father, life as an orphan (and living in a penal colony), adventures in the Guyanese jungles, through starting his own business and extensive travels from Guyana, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America.

Looking back at it, I think he started writing it to figure out some context for his life. He then continues on describing the lives of his friends and family. His writings were definitely meant to be shared and you can tell at several points he is writing to describe things for friends around the world and makes it clear he is writing for future generations.

As I went through his autobiography, I linked to as much relevant information and sites as I could. Alfred added a lot of details into his writing and if they were important enough to want to share, I wanted to make it easier to understand and see what he was talking about.

I hope you enjoy what Alfred has written whether you are looking up information about the Gilkes family or just looking for information on what he has seen.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. When memory first begins
2. My Father
3. My Mother
4. Life as a Partial Orphan
5. Life as a Country Boy
6. My Return to Georgetown, Secondary Schooling & Work
7. Wedding Arrangements - Disappointed re trip to Canada - Journey to Trinidad & Return to Georgetown
8. Self Employment & Its Consequences | 1953
9. Our Visit to the U.S.A. | 1959
10. Reaction & Our Life in England | 1960
11. The U.S.A. As Our New Home | 1967
12. Mobile Home Life in Colton | 1970
13. My Adventure Among Adventists | 1967
14. We Revisit England | 1971
15. Our Welcome Back to California | 1972
16. A Visit to Hawaii | 1973
17. Retirement and Trip to Guyana | 1973
18. Return to the U.S.A. | 1974
19. Trip to Canada | 1976
20. Autobiography Continued… 1978 - 1983
21. Visit to U.K., France, Belgium and The Netherlands | 1983
22. Return to England | Visits to Family | 1993
23. My Experience with a Car Burglar | 1993
24. Return to Brandon, Manitoba | 1993
25. Short Trip to Paradise, California | 1994
26. Ron, Maureen, & Paul Visit from the U.K. | 1994
27. Visit to Gordon and Michael in Paradise California, and St. Lucia, West Indies | 1995
28. Life back in Brandon | 1995
29. Back at My Winter Hideout | 1995
30. My Wheelchair Experience | 1995
31. My Trip to England | 1996
32. Our Four Day Holiday at Elveden Forest | 1996
33. A Weekend in Wales | 1996
34. Visit to a Hindu Temple & Syon House | 1996
35. A Winter "Escape" From Brandon to the U.S.A | 1997
36. Trip to see Mark & Barbara | 1997
37. Short Trips to England | 1997
38. Maureen's and Paul's Visit to Brandon | 1997
39. A late winter visit to Gordon | 1997
40. The Blythe Sojourn | 1998 - 2000
41. Gordon and Arna's trip to Loma Linda | 2000
42. Our Visit to Toronto | 2000
43. Visit to Lynchburg, Virginia (and events recorded until late 2006)
44. Final Days (2006 - 2007)