There is a major unanswered question. When did Leslie Dunn first meet his future wife? He married Kathleen Stanley, my aunt, in Brighton Registry Office on 12th May 1944. Their daughter was born on 23rd November, six and a half months later. She must have conceived in the middle of February 1944. This is only two and a half months after he landed in England (see ‘More heartbreak for Patrick’ for the details).
The 1939 Register provides a big clue about how they met. In September 1939, Kathleen was a domestic servant in the home of Charles Matthew Dunn (born 20/2/1906) and his wife Margery. The Dunn family lived in the Parish of Stanmer, on the northern edge of Brighton. Charles kept a furniture shop. He married Margery in the third quarter of 1933, in Brighton. Their son, Christopher was born a few weeks later. Sadly, he died early in 1934. A daughter, Christine, was born at the beginning of 1936. 
(Picture: Stanmer Parish Church – source: Wikipedia, accessed 25/11/2024)
The obvious conclusion is that E L Dunn, from New Zealand, and C M Dunn, from England are related. It would be perfectly logical for Leslie to seek out a relative when he finally arrived in England more than 18 months after leaving home. Leslie was born in 1921. His father, Edward, should have a date of birth before 1903. One would expect that the relationship would be reasonably close: an uncle or cousin.
I started my research on the English side. There is only one Charles Matthew Dunn, born 1906, on the 1911 census. He is the son of Matthew (born 1873 in Middlesborough) and Gertrude. They are living in Durham. There are two other children, Eva (born 1901) and Thomas Cecil (born 1908). Matthew is an inspector at a colliery. The 1921 census finds the family staying in Plymouth. By this time, Matthew is a Furniture Dealer.
Matthew married Gertrude Newbald in June 1900 in Husthwaite, a village about 10 miles east of Ripon, in Yorkshire.
The 1891 census shows Matthew, a general labourer living in Durham with his parents Thomas (born 1839) and Elizabeth (born 1842) and five brothers and three sisters. The 1881 census reveals that there were two other girls born to the family making 11 children in total. As I am looking for a Dunn connection, my attention focuses on the boys. They are Richard (born 1862), Jonathan (1874), Thomas (1878), William (1878), and Whallace (1886). Their children would be cousins to Charles Matthew Dunn’s father, Matthew.
Having worked backwards, I now need to go forwards. The eldest, Richard is a tailor in 1891. He appears on the (UK) 1901 census, and also in 1911. Jonathan is still in Durham in 1901 and 1911, working in a colliery. William is an apprentice cabinet maker in 1901 and working as such in 1911. Whallace (or Wallace) is another apprentice cabinet maker in 1901, but working as a builder’s joiner in 1911.
There is a strong theme of working with wood, or finished products made from wood in the family. This link makes me reasonably sure that I have the right family. But no one has gone to New Zealand, and there is no obvious connection to farming.
I have to go back to Charles Matthew Dunn’s grandfather to find a farming connection. Jonathan Dunn, born 1810, was an agricultural labourer. He had four other sons in addition to Thomas. I would need to track down all of the sons of all of the brothers to see if any of those emigrated. Even assuming that I find one, this would make the relationship between Leslie and Charles one of second cousins once removed. This seems somewhat remote.
Perhaps I have been misled by the Charles Matthew name. Searching for Charles Dunn, born 1906, on the 1911 census produces 18 possibilities. Without any further clues, I would have to investigate every one of them. To express this problem in mathematical terms, I appear to have too many unknowns with an insufficient number of equations to generate a unique solution. I am forced to put this enquiry on hold unless more information appears at some point in the future.