LOOKING Back has taken on a whole new meaning for the BEN's own Les Gent .... thanks to e-mails.

An e-mail arrived for him at this newspaper's Churchgate headquarters from a lady in New Hampshire, US called Linda Pauwels.

She'd seen Les's popular Looking Back column on the BEN website and wondered if he was one of the Gent family from Adlington.

He is -- "In fact, when I was growing up there were loads of us Gents in Adlington," recalls Les, now 62.

Linda's great-grandfather was Luke Gent who owned shops in Railway Road, Adlington and had at least two brothers. Was there any chance that Les was related to Luke Gent?

Yes, he was. It turned out that Les's great-grandfather was his brother.

Surprise

Luke's son, William, and wife Eliza went to America in 1912. Williams's uncle also went out there, but the rest of the family stayed in Adlington.

"It was a complete surprise to find out that I had family in America, although I know of some in South Africa and New Zealand," said Les. "They are fairly distant relatives after all this time, of course, but it is still fascinating."

And the e-mail traffic between New Hampshire and Bolton has also helped Les trace his own great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather.

"It was just as intriguing to discover (from America!) that I have, or certainly had, relatives in Bolton. These include Tom Mayor, the famous crown green panel bowler who won the Waterloo Cup in 1963 at the age of 69, bringing it to Bolton for the first time."