Last updated April 4, 2025
Daniel Torridon Stoneham (October 3, 1969 – present), commonly known as Daniel Torridon, is an English author, songwriter, poet, photographer, painter, teacher, life coach, radio presenter, podcaster, and web developer. Torridon was born Paul Rodney Stoneham to parents Bryan and Kathleen Stoneham.
| Paternal grandparents |
Robert John Stoneham (deceased c. 1974) Needs Confirmation Winifred (Amy) Stoneham (née Comfort, deceased March 13, 1986) Needs Confirmation |
| Maternal grandparents |
Percival (Jack) Henry Turner (deceased November 1, 1998) Needs Confirmation Dorothy Turner (née Baker deceased c. 1975) Needs Confirmation |
| Parents |
Bryan Keith Stoneham (June 7, 1938 – present) Kathleen (Kay) Anne Stoneham (née Turner, April 26, 1940 – June 29, 2014) |
| Siblings | Susan (Sue) Jeanette White, née Stoneham (January 7, 1972 – present) |
| Children |
Brendan Tyler Stoneham (December 16, 1995 – present) Kolbie Erin Stoneham (August 6, 1998 – present) Sian-Ishah Stoneham (January 11, 2002 – present) Madison Jorja Stoneham (November 7, 2006 – present) |
| Relationships |
Rebekah Harvey, née Cumming (Courting 1992 – 1993) Rebekah (Bex) Jane Stoneham, née Barnes (Married August 27, 1993 – November 1, 2021) Mariella Curmi (Married October 15, 2024 – present) |
As a young child, Daniel lived in Spalding, Lincolnshire. His first home was an upstairs council flat at Landsdowne Court. In 1971 his parents moved with him to a council house at 20 Edinburgh Drive, Spalding where they lived until he was 7 years old. His sister, Susan, was born in 1972 while he was living at Edinburgh Drive. In 1976, the family moved to 259 Slade Green Road, Erith in Kent. They moved again in 1987, this time to 17 Grove Lane, Retford in Nottinghamshire. It was while living in Retford that Daniel met and married his first wife, Rebekah from nearby Shirebrook in Mansfield, and fathered the first two of their four children.
Daniel and Rebekah lived in a number of properties in Retford including 38 Tiln Lane, 4 Crossways (where his first child, Brendan, was born), and 21 Leafield (where his second child, Kolbie, was born). In the year 2000, Daniel and his young family moved to Wirksworth, Matlock in Derbyshire where they lived in a flat above Ken's Supermarket on St. John Street and then in 2002 to Roblyn House, Canterbury Terrace. Daniel and Rebekah's next two children were born while living at Roblyn House which has since been renamed Coppice Bank.
In 2007, Daniel and his family moved from Matlock to Whitwell where they lived at 31 Middle Cottage, Portland Street, a 300-year-old stone-built cottage. In 2011 they returned to Retford, living first at Gables Farm (also known as The Gables) on North Road/Low Street Torworth (2011 – 2013), then 9 Spicers Court (2013 – 2016), followed by 120 Albert Road (2016 – 2018). In 2018 they left Retford and moved to 23 Quilter Road, Maltby in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
After his relationship with Rebekah ended in December 2019, Daniel moved to a bedsit (Room 5) at 20 Lindum Terrace in Rotherham. In February 2020, he relocated to another bedsit (Room 1) at 7 Wellgate Mount where he remained until February 2023. He then left the United Kingdom and moved to Lowood in Queensland, Australia to be with his new partner Mariella Curmi, where he remains to this day. Daniel and Mariella were married on October 15th, 2024.
Daniel was born at 4 am on October 3rd, 1969 in Johnson Hospital, Spalding, Lincolnshire. As a young child, he suffered from croup, being hospitalised several times for the condition. He attended Westlode Infant and Junior School from 1974 to 1976. Following his family's move from Spalding to Erith, Daniel attended Slade Green Junior School (1976 – 1981). He passed his 11-plus exam in 1981 and went on to attend Bexley and Erith Technical High School for Boys (B.E.T.H.S), but his time there was short-lived. After being sexually abused by a teacher in his first term at B.E.T.H.S., Daniel suffered a mental breakdown and his parents removed him from school. In 1983 Daniel attended a tutorial unit in Tonbridge as part of his mental health recovery. He returned to secondary education in 1984, attending Picardy Comprehensive School in Erith/Belvedere. Daniel left school in July 1986 with O Levels in English, Mathematics, Computer Studies, Technology Engineering Drawing, and Art, and CSEs in Physics and Woodwork.
Daniel was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses by parents who themselves were born into the religion. He became an "unbaptised publisher" in 1973, selling copies of The Watchtower and Awake! magazines from door-to-door when he was just 4 years old. Also at 4 years old, he began giving his first public Bible readings from the platform at the Spalding Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Daniel was baptised as a Jehovah's Witness on January 18th, 1986 in a school swimming pool in Wimbledon along with his sister. Upon leaving school in 1986, he volunteered as an "auxiliary pioneer", entering the "regular pioneer" service in January 1987 while serving as a member of the Crayford Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. After moving to Retford, he attended the Pioneer Service School in Nottingham in February 1988 and continued pioneering on and off for much of his adult life.
Daniel was appointed as a "ministerial servant" in June 1993 and as an "elder" in December 1999, both while serving in the Retford Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. In October 2000 he moved with his wife and children to Matlock to serve where there was a need for elders.
Daniel resigned as an elder in September 2004 and partook of the bread and wine as an "anointed" Christian at the 2005 memorial of Jesus' death on March 24th. He was disfellowshipped in February 2006 on a charge of "apostasy" for questioning the Watch Tower's 1914/18 eschatology. Despite no longer believing Jehovah's Witnesses to be "the truth", he took steps to be reinstated for the sake of his family. His reinstatement took place in March 2009 while he was attending the Bolsover Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (2007 – 2011). He suffered severe cognitive dissonance for the next 10 years as a result of not believing the religion to be true.
In 2011 Daniel and his family returned to Retford Congregation where he continued to serve as a pioneer, joining a Thai foreign language group hosted by the nearby Maltby Congregation from 2016 to 2018. In 2018, he and his family left the Thai group and moved into the Maltby Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, also moving home to Maltby in Rotherham.
After the breakup of his marriage to Rebekah, he was disfellowshipped for a second time in December 2019. Finding himself once again shunned by friends and family, Daniel tried to get reinstated, but in April 2020 he took the decision never to return to the religion of his birth. He is now regarded as an "apostate" by Jehovah's Witnesses. After deconstructing his Christian beliefs, Daniel went on to identify as a Pandeist, contributing to contributed to Knujon Mapson's 2002 book Pandeism—An Anthology of Spiritual Nature with an article entitled My Journey to Pandeism. His beliefs have now evolved to more closely align with Monism and Advaita Vedanta.
After leaving Jehovah's Witnesses, Daniel went on to present the OnionUnlimited podcast (September 2021 – present) in which he told his story of healing and rebuilding after leaving Jehovah's Witnesses. This later evolved into a less JW-centric show, delving into a range of subjects including spirituality, religion, politics, metaphysics, science, and philosophy. The most recent iteration of the OnionUnlimited podcast is available on a number of platforms including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
He has also written several books about Jehovah's Witnesses and his time in the Watch Tower organisation. His life story and an exposé of the Watch Tower organisation from its inception in the 1870s are contained in his autobiographical work, Believing the Lie—A Story of Cognitive Dissonance, released in December 2024. Daniel also runs Flaxenwick, a support website for former Jehovah's Witnesses.
After being disfellowshipped by Jehovah's Witnesses in 2006, Daniel decided to change his name from Paul Rodney Stoneham to Paul Daniel Torridon Stoneham on July 17th, 2008. He later changed this to Daniel Paul Torridon-Stoneham (January 20, 2011) and finally to Daniel Torridon Stoneham (March 8, 2018). He is commonly known as Daniel Torridon.
In 1993, Daniel almost married his childhood sweetheart, Rebekah Cumming, but their relationship ended abruptly. On the rebound, he began courting Rebekah Jane Barnes from Shirebrook who he had met some years previously. They were married on August 27th, 1994 at Retford Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses and had their reception at Retford Town Hall, honeymooning in Redmire, North Yorkshire.
Daniel and Rebekah went on to have four children, Brendan Tyler (December 16, 1995), Kolbie Erin (August 6, 1998), Sian-Ishah (January 11, 2002), and Madison Jorja (November 7, 2006).
Sian-Ishah was baptised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in May 2011 at just 9 years old and started pioneering when she was 12 years old. Kolbie was baptised in January 2012 at age 14 and Brendan in May 2012 at 17 years old. Kolbie and Brendan disassociated from Jehovah's Witnesses in May 2015 and June 2019 respectively. Kolbie identified as a trans woman in March 2016, later changing her name to Kala Heatherson. She went on to attend university and become a documentary photographer and TEDx speaker.
Daniel and Rebekah's marriage ended in December 2019. The couple were divorced on November 1st, 2021. As a former Jehovah's Witness, now disfellowshipped, Daniel has no contact with his children who shun him in accordance with Watch Tower rules.
Daniel became acquainted with Mariella Curmi from Lowood in Queensland, Australia on October 15th, 2021 when they began a conversation on Twitter. After a long-distance courtship via phone and social media, they met for the first time in London in November 2022. Daniel travelled back to Queensland with Mariella in November 2022 and stayed for a month, during which time he decided to emigrate to Australia. He returned to the UK in December to finalise his personal affairs and moved to Lowood on February 14th, 2023 to live with Mariella. They formalised their relationship on March 15th, 2023 by entering into a Civil Partnership. Daniel was granted a Temporary Partner Visa on July 4th, 2023 and will be eligible for a permanent visa to remain in Australia in July 2025. Daniel and Mariella were married on October 15th, 2024.
After leaving school in 1986 and starting his pioneer ministry, Daniel supported himself with part-time work as a delivery boy for Bed Fayre, The Oval, Sidcup in Kent (1986 – 1987). When he moved with his parents to Nottinghamshire in 1987 he worked as a part-time labourer for his father's building business and then as a part-time double-glazing salesman for Horizon Windows of Doncaster. He also started an egg round with a friend, trading as The Egg Men, to support himself in his pioneer work. In 1988, Daniel worked on Retford market selling pictures and picture framing services for his father's business, The Art of Decor, and in 1989 he and his father opened an art gallery above North's Chemist in Retford where he continued to work part-time.
In 1990, Daniel resigned from his position as a pioneer and started a full-time job working as an administrative assistant for Roy Waring Domestic Appliances in Tuxford, Newark-on-Trent where he worked until 1991. He then took a full-time position working as the Technical Records Manager for A. F. Budge Aviation at Gamston Airport in Retford. From 1991 to 1998 the aviation company Daniel worked for changed hands several times and was operated by a number of companies including Gamston Aviation, Polypipe, Knight Air, Pegasus Helicopters, and Vallely Aviation (a subsidiary of Vallely Tankers Ltd). During this uncertain period, Daniel started his own web design business called Imajique (1998 – present) and left the airport briefly in 1998 to work for Russel Adams in Solihul near Coventry (later called Rusada, now part of Veryon) where he commuted from Retford each day. He returned to Gamston Airport in 1999, working for Valelly Aviation until their closure in early 2000.
Following his redundancy in 2000, Daniel continued to work for himself, trading as Imajique, while once again volunteering as a pioneer in his local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Imajique was incorporated as a Limited company in 2002 and was renamed several times, including Daniel Torridon Photography Ltd (2011), Daniel Torridon Media Ltd (2011 – 2012), and Daniel Torridon Ltd (2012 – 2015).
In January 2006 Daniel qualified as a Life Coach, attaining a Diploma from Newcastle College. He has practised as a Life Coach since 2003 under the name 4hearts. In 2023 he founded Flaxenwick, an online life coaching course for former Jehovah's Witnesses.
In 2006, Daniel partnered with a friend, Len Willis, and founded Vyouz, a social media company specialising in environmentally friendly websites. Also in 2006, Daniel and Len established vSkips, a website which allowed members to give away unwanted items for free. In 2023, Daniel launched skipbinz, an Australian website similar to vSkips.
In 2006, while still working as a web developer, Daniel became a professional wedding photographer trading as Daniel Torridon Photography (2006 – 2013).
In 2014, Daniel qualified as a teacher (PTLLS) and set up a first aid training company called How 2 Save A Life CIC which he ran alongside his web design business until December 2019 when his marriage ended. For the initial six months after his marriage breakup, Daniel was unable to work due to poor mental health, but in June 2020, he recommenced working as a web designer, once again using the business name Imajique.
In 2024, Daniel and his wife, Mariella started the OnionUnlimited Radio radio station (OURFM), broadcasting online from their studio in Queensland, Australia. In 2025, OURFM launched The Hub!–a community-driven platform, designed to showcase underrepresented and up-and-coming artists.
Also in 2025, Daniel and Mariella, started Torridon Photography, specialising in wedding photography, portrait photography, pet photography, event photography, corporate photography, and professional headshots.
The sexual abuse that Daniel underwent when he was a child caused PTSD and depression which continued for most of his adult life. In 2011, at the age of 41, he was diagnosed with Bipolar Type II Following his disfellowshipping by Jehovah's Witnesses in 2019 he made several unsuccessful attempts at suicide. During 2020, Daniel underwent therapy with Rotherham Abuse Counselling Service. The diagnosis of Bipolar was subsequently questioned, his poor mental health being attributed by doctors to "situational stressors" including the trauma of childhood abuse, the cognitive dissonance he experienced as a Jehovah's Witness, and his difficult first marriage.
Now depression-free, Daniel has used his knowledge of mental health disorders to help other people with the illness. His book, First Aid for Bipolar Disorder (2023) was written to help those with family or friends who suffer from Bipolar Disorder.
It was clear from as young as 4 years old that Daniel was creative when his father bought him a bamboo recorder which he immediately started playing tunes on. In infant school, he took up the clarinet, and by 14 years old he was playing the piano (self-taught) and writing his own songs. Daniel's first song was called Crystal Tears (July 23, 1984) which he wrote for his sister to sing. Since then, he has gone on to write over 120 songs, most with lyrics. Daniel's music has been published to SoundCloud, YouTube, and the Internet Archive. In 2023, he began compiling a songbook of all his lyrics called Discoveries scheduled for publication in 2025.
Commencing in 2009, Daniel became a street photographer, visiting and photographing many places around the world including Barcelona, Poland, and New York. His street photography, mostly black and white, is available to view online at Daniel Torridon Street Photographer. Since 2016, Daniel has been sharing his phone-captured street photography on Instagram.
In 2013 Daniel began to write poetry. The first edition of In Two Minds containing 50 poems was published later that year. In 2023 this was re-released with just shy of 100 poems.
Also in 2013, Daniel began painting. His paintings are mostly abstract in nature and many have Latin names. Paintings include Agelos, Balaena, Daffodils, Ignis, Poppies, Spiralis, Torridon, and Visceral. Almost all of these paintings were destroyed by Daniel between 2019 and 2022. Only two paintings, Agincourt and Defenders of the Flag painted in 2014 survive to this day.
As an author, Daniel has written and published a number of books related to experience as a Jehovah's Witness and his search for true spirituality. These include I Am God (a channeled book written between 2006 and 2022) and what he considers his life's work, Believing the Lie—A Story of Cognitive Dissonance, published in 2024. The latter is his life story and an exposé of the Watch Tower organisation which Daniel now recognises is a cult.
In 2025, Daniel and his wife, Mariella started their own music label called DISCoveries and released their debut single Paper Wings and Broken Heartstrings (An Ode to Elton John) on YouTube Music, iTunes, and Spotify.
Daniel cites Nanci Griffith (country singer, July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) as a creative influence, along with Vivian Maier (American street photographer, February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) and the poet, Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) who he believes he is the reincarnation of. Daniel's poetry bears an uncanny resemblance to Dickinson's, even down to the use of em dashes in the text.
Much of Daniel's creative work has been uploaded to the Internet Archive for posterity.