David Freeman

David Freeman
Born	1876
Residence	c/o Freeman & Madge, Kuala Lumpur [1926] 54 Klyne Street, Kuala Lumpur, FMS; 48 Wimborne Road, Bournemouth, Hants [1927] 16 St Catherine's Road, Southbourne, Bournemouth, Hants. [1929] 3 Cleveland Road, West Hampstead, NW6 [1933] 3 Cleve Road, West Hampstead, NW6 [1935] 96 Priory Road, West Hampstead, NW6 [1937]
Occupation	legal political
Society Membership membership ordinary fellow elected_AI 1926.11.23 societies Royal Asiatic Society Malayan branch Fabian Society Haldane Society

Notes

House Notes

1926.10.26 proposed by J.H.N. Evans, seconded by C. Boden Kloss

Parliamentary candidate, solicitor (retired)

Notes From Elsewhere

David Freeman was a well-known Kuala Lumpur lawyer in his day. He was Director of the legal firm Freeman & Madge, which was based at No. 54 Klyne Street (Jalan Hang Lekiu) in the early 1900s. He was also an Unofficial Member of the KL Sanitary Board. Freeman Road named after him. [Kuala Lumpur street names]

After a few days, I went to live with a Mr. & Mrs. David Freeman. As my foster parents, David Freeman was a lawyer who will play a significant part in my life.

I was told Freeman approached J.A. Russell to adopt me. Refused but agreed to pay for my education. So J.A. paid my school fees at St. John institution, located at Bukit Nanas. My name then was Edward Russell

However, when the Freemans went to England on leave, J. A. Russell wrote to the principal of the school that his brother, George Russell, who was my father, denied he was my father, which of course was a lie, and wanted my name changed otherwise he would stop the payment of the school fees. I did not know what was going on and the brothers at St. John’s wanted me to stay on. In the fashion of a lottery, I picked the name “Davidson” from a number of names that had been written on pieces of paper by the brothers.

On return from leave Ma Freeman asked why I did not take the name of Freeman instead. The Freemans had made it a principle to either adopt the children whose parents wished to disown them, or to send them to the “Barnardo” home in England. .... For fear of the incendiary bombs, the Sanitary Board Office as a whole moved to the house where Mr. David Freeman lived before he sold it for conversion to the Chinese temple. .... I wrote to Mr. David Freeman about the whole situation.

Meanwhile, there was a change of the officer in charge of the office in Bombay. He was a former chairman of the sanitary board in Kuala Lumpur. With a word from Mr. David Freeman, my pension was restored with which I was able to pay for the passage to England. [from Dearie:Russell family history]

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