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Mr WILLIAM BURRIDGE-Mrs AMELIA, BURRIDGE Age 71, 56 Mr
ERNEST VICTOR COPE - Mr FREDERICK ARTHUR, COPE Age 40, 17 Mrs ETHEL LYDIA KATHLEEN DAWES - Miss ELIZABETH A.S. DAWES - Miss KATHLEEN E.J. DAWES Age 35, 4, and 5 Marine
VALENTINE JELLICOE GOYMER, R.M. - Mrs MAY GOYMER PO/X1862, Royal Marines Age 26, 19 Mrs MABEL HILL Age 56 Mr ALBERT CYRIL LAWRENCE Age 22 Mrs DAISY
LEWIS Age 29 Mr AUSTYN MALONE Age 24 Mr DONALD McLEAN Age 31 Mr GEORGE STOKES Age 28
MR FRANK TRUNER Age 24 Miss MARY VALERIE ANN WILLIAMS Age 2 years 6 months Died on 10.3.1941
During an air raid on the Gosport area on 10th March 1941, the target most probably was the goods yard at the nearby railway station, or the
fuel depot on the opposite side of Forton Road. The bombs fell to the west, exploding in the residential estates. In Avenue Road. The devastation was severe. The site were the houses were hit is marked
today, by the insertion of modern houses, with angled frontages to the road.
At No. 56; Mr WILLIAM (72) & Mrs AMELIA (56) BURRIDGE, Mrs DAISY LEWIS (29) (their daughter), Royal Marine VALENTINE JELLICOE, the son of
John and Ellen Jane Goymer, who lived in Forton, Gosport, & his wife MAY GOYMER (19), were killed when the house received a direct hit. Mr Burridge and his wife had shortly been evacuated from
Gibraltar, where he worked as a gardener in the grounds of the Governor’s House. Equally unlucky was Valentine Goymer, who was on leave, after having served for year’s abroad.
At No. 66; Mr ALBERT (BERT) CYRIL LAWRENCE (22) an engineer by trade, was crushed when the wall of the house was blown in by the blast of the
exploding bomb.
At No. 76; Mrs MABEL HILL (56), wife of Royston Hill, was killed when another bomb completely demolished her house.
At No. 82; Mr ERNEST VICTOR (40) & his son FREDERICK ARTHUR COPE (17), who were boilermakers by trade, were casualties of the resulting
blast damage, their roof collapsed down, crushing the lower floors, on which they were sheltering.
Across the road, at No. 85; Mr FRANK TURNER (24), was sleeping, when a combination of blast and debris reduced his home to rubble. He worked in
the Welding and Burning Department of HM Dockyard, Portsmouth.
About a quarter of a mile away, on the opposite side of the railway line, at No. 19 Park Road, Gosport, Mrs ETHEL LYDIA KATHLEEN DAWES (35),
wife of James Reginald Dawes, and her daughters ELIZABETH ALICE SLYVIA (4) and KATHLEEN EDITH JEAN (5), were visiting Mrs Janet Williams and her daughter MARY VALERIE ANN (30 months). Mrs Williams was a
widow, having lost her husband on active service. The only person to survive the air raid was to be Mrs Williams; all the others were killed when a bomb hit the house.
The other fatal casualties in Gosport that night were two motor drivers, who had lodgings at No. 19 Gordon Road, Mr AUSTYN MALONE (24) and Mr
GEORGE STOKES (28). They stood no chance when a bomb struck the house they were in.
Mr DONALD McLEAN (31) lived in Gosport, at No. 283 Forton Road. He was an Auxiliary Fireman, he was on duty dealing with the many fires which
were blazing in Portsmouth. The Dockyard had been hit, but particularly badly hit was HMS Vernon, RN shore base. Despite the fact that the raiders were still overhead, they were tasked with extinguishing
the numerous blazes started by incendiary bombs. High Explosive bombs were also being dropped and severe damage was resulting. Mr McLean and a fellow fire fighter were busy attempting to quell a blaze in
buildings next to the Mining Tank. This Tank was constructed within a tower, and was reached by using a lift to get to the open top of the tank, housed in a top building. Here divers practiced disarming,
and dealing with underwater mines etc. In the early hours of the morning a large calibre H.E. bomb penetrated the roof above, smashing its way through failed to explode on impact, plunged through the
floor at the top of the tank, finally exploding after striking the steel runners of the lift some twenty feet above the ground. The two firemen stood no chance, the explosion ripped the water tank,
sending tons of water gushing everywhere, shrapnel and debris flew in all directions. The bodies of the men, where recovered after the ‘all clear’ siren had sounded, and they were found to be
missing.
All the above are buried at Ann’s Hill Cemetery, the details are: Mr Donald McLean was buried on Thursday 13th March 1941, Plot 34 Space
10, and is commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
Friday 14th March 1941 Mr Cope and his son Frederick were buried Plot 40 Space 89, and are also commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
Mr Lawrence and Mr Frank Turner were buried Plot19 Space 41 and Plot 19 Space 33 respectively; a Family Memorial commemorates both.
Saturday 15th March 1941 Mrs Dawes and her daughters were buried Plot 53 Space 70, and are commemorated by a Family Memorial.
Miss Valerie Anne Williams was buried, Plot 29 Space 94, a Civilian War Grave headstone commemorates her.
Mrs Hill, was buried Plot 173 Space 52, and is commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
Marine Goymer and his wife May, were buried Plot 173 Space 50, and are commemorated by a CWG headstone.
Mr Burridge and his wife Amelia, were buried Plot 173 Space 52, and are commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
Monday 17th March 1941 Mr Stokes and Mr Malone, were buried Plot 165 Space 60, and Plot 165 Space 62, respectively, are
commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
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