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Mr ARTHUR THOMAS HENRY BEAVIS Age 32 Died 13.1.41
The late night of the 10th/11th January 1941 witnessed one of the heaviest air raids on the Gosport area was to suffer throughout the war. The
wailing sirens stirred the sleeping inhabitants, who understandably were reluctant to leave the relative warmth of their homes, to the freezing cold of an air raid shelter. As a result of this, the
night’s casualty figures were very high, many being killed. Reports state, some 300 plus enemy aircraft were involved. In the Portsmouth/Gosport area, 171 were killed, 430 injured and leaving over 3,000
people homeless.
Mr ARTHUR THOMAS BEAVIS, a labourer, aged 32, was at his home, No. 74 Dunkeld Road, no doubt worried about incendiary bombs, he had ensured his
family were in the small Anderson shelter at the bottom the garden, but had remained vigilant in his home. During the height of the raid, which it is believed had targeted the ammunition factories of
Frater, half a mile to the north-west of his home, a large explosion blew the house to pieces. Leaving the road badly damaged. Mr Beavis was trapped underneath the rubble of his home. He was rescued from
the remains of No. 74, but he had terrible head injuries, and was unconscious. He and his wife were taken to Gosport War Memorial Hospital; she had slight head injuries, and survived. Mr Beavis never
regained consciousness, passing away two days later (13th). It was found that the massive destruction, had been caused by a parachute mine, designed to explode above the ground, this produced tremendous
blast shock waves, leveling a very large area.
Mr Beavis, was buried on Thursday 16th January 1941, Plot 194 Space 15, and is commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
Mrs ELIZABETH ANNIE BLACKBURN - Miss DOROTHY JOAN BLACKBURN - Master EDWARD GEORGE BLACKBURN Age 50, 10, and 13
Mrs BENJAMINA MILLER CARTER - Mr JAMES FREDERICK GEORGE, CARTER Age 21, 29
Mr FRANCIS WILLIAM JOHNSON Age 75
Mrs KATE MILLER Age 65
On the night of Sunday 27th April 1941, the darkening skies heralded yet another air raid on the Gosport area, the main attack: targeting
Portsmouth Dockyard area. A lone enemy aircraft found itself illuminated by the searchlight units. The German pilot threw the aircraft around the sky in a desperate bid to escape the anti aircraft flak
focused on it. To this end, the bomb load was jettisoned, helping considerably the handling of the plane, and reducing slightly the risk: of the deadly flak hitting and exploding the plane. This decision
taken high above them to jettison the bomb-load sealed the fate of those below in Hartington Road, Gosport.
At No. 10; Mr FRANCIS WILLIAM JOHNSON (75), a builder by trade, had taken what steps he could to shelter from the attack it was to no avail, he
was killed when the house around him collapsed.
At No. 16 Mrs ELIZABETH ANN BLACKBURN (50) a widow and two children DOROTHY JOAN, (10) and EDWARD GEORGE, (13) were trapped under the wreckage
of their house, when brought out from the remains of the building, rescue services found that both of the children had been killed, their mother seriously injured and barely alive, was taken to the War
Memorial Hospital, Gosport, where in the early hours of the 28th she succumbed to her injuries.
At No. 22 JAMES FREDERICK GEORGE CARTER & his wife BENJAMIN MILLER CARTER, were visiting Benjamina’s mother KATE MILLER (wife of William),
(65), and had left their home close by in Malvern Road, Gosport. James Frederick George Carter was a skilled labourer and was 29 years of age, his wife, Benjamina Miller Carter, was 21 years old all
stood no chance when the bombs went off and they were killed outright.
Also killed in the raid on Hartington Road, was Mr. WILLIAM BENNETT, who I am led to believe, was visiting his in-laws home (Mr and Mrs Carter).
He is not buried at Ann’s Hill Cemetery, Gosport, but at Chichester.
Mr Francis William Johnson (75), was buried at Ann's Hill Cemetery, Gosport on Thursday 1st May 1941, and is laid to rest, Plot 16, Space 52 and
is commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
Mr James Frederick George (29) and his wife Benjamina Miller Carter, (21) were also buried at Ann's Hill Cemetery Gosport on Thursday 1st May
1941, and are laid to rest, Plot 43 Space 77, and are commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone.
Mrs Elizabeth Ann Blackburn (50), her children Dorothy Joan (10) and Edward George (13), were buried at Ann's Hill Cemetery, Gosport, on
Saturday 3rd May 1941, and are laid to rest, Plot 173, Space 55, and are commemorated by a Civilian War Grave headstone. Mrs Kate Miller, (65) was also buried at Ann's Hill Cemetery, Gosport, on 3rd May
1941, and is laid to rest, Plot 9, Space 48, she is commemorated by a Family Memorial.
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