Grandchildren of New Milton Second World War bombing victim Helena Hawkins join annual commemoration in Station Road

A HIDDEN photo led a brother and sister to discover how their grandmother had been one of New Milton’s bombing victims in the Second World War.

Siblings Melinda and Gavin Rider travelled from Swanage on Tuesday for the town’s annual remembrance – having only recently learned how ancestor Helena Hawkins lost her life.

She was one of 31 people killed in a string of air raids on New Milton.

Melinda placed a posy of three red roses at the clock during the commemoration at Station Road’s Memorial Clock.

Known locally as Ethel, Helena (42) was among 25 deaths in the first and most devastating attack on 23rd August 1940 when German bombs fell on the high street.

Melinda told the A&T she found out more in August last year “only by fluke”, having only known she was killed during the war.

“I had put a photo of our grandmother on the mantel and a ray of light hit it and I realised there was another photo behind it,” she said.

“I took it out and saw it was a picture of a graveyard, and there was a note written on the back saying it was where grandmother was buried at Ashley.”

Melinda, as retired administrative assistant at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, and Gavin travelled down two days later

Together they found the memorial ground, separate to the since-relocated Ashley Baptist Church.

They were helped Milton Heritage Society chair and A&T columnist Nick Saunders who provided historical documents.

Among these was an A&T report on Helena’s funeral, headlined: “New Milton loses a charming personality”.

The article told how she had a wide circle of friends and had been a member of New Forest Players amateur dramatics group.

Gavin, a doctor of physics, said: “We’ve now had a stone erected on her grave in her memory at last.

“We’re very much into the genealogy thing, which is available online. It’s very interesting to discover things that you didn’t know previously.

“Mum Pauline and her sister Joyce were away at boarding school when the bombing happened, so they never saw their mother again.

“They were 14 and 12 at the time and had already lost their father.”

Helena’s husband was a lieutenant in the Sikh regiment of the Indian Army during the First World War and died about four years earlier from injuries sustained in that conflict.

At the commemoration, Royal British Legion New Milton branch vice-chair Goff Beck read out the names of the dead from all three bombings.

The later two happened on on 8th August 1942 and 22nd January 1943.

The last attack notably killed 38-year-old Evelyn Morin and her daughters Gabrielle (11), Norma (9) and Pauline (8), along with six-year-old Brian Holloway.

A one-minute silence was followed by prayer led by the Rev. James Gilbert from New Milton Baptist Church.

Melinda and Gavin now plan to return every year for the ceremony.

Gavin said: “I think it’s wonderful that all these people come together to remember those people who were going about their normal business and had their lives cut short.

“It’s just a shame our Mum didn’t get to see this as she passed away in 2013. She would have liked to have identified the grave.”

Those present also included George Tompkins (88) who, along with Goff, is one of the last surviving bombing witnesses.

George recalled diving into a shop for cover from the first raid with his older brother Donald.

His family had an even closer shave when the second bombing wrecked their home.

“My bedroom was down on the kitchen floor, and the bath was also brought crashing down,” George told the A&T.

“If we’d been upstairs, we would have had it!”

He added: “I think we should remember as it was a tragedy for all the families and the children that were lost.”