A wartime tragedy, and the death of baby Jane - a Bournemouth (East) Cemetery grave (1)

Image: © Mike Searle Taken: 9 Mar 2017

- A chance discovery of a child's grave in Bournemouth East Cemetery http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2883110 with its poignant headstone inscription, led me to investigate the circumstances that led to the sudden death of its occupant, a 5 month old baby girl. Jane Ann Pearce age 5 months was a casualty of war who was killed as a result of enemy action in Bournemouth in 1940. The headstone inscription is at slight odds with the subsequently discovered facts, the names are 'Pearce' not 'Pearse', and Ann rather than Anne. Also, the date of death occurred not on 10th November, but on the night of the 9th. Although faring better than most large towns, Bournemouth was nevertheless visited by the Luftwaffe on many occasions throughout the Second World War when a total of more than 2,200 bombs were dropped on the town. The first of these raids occurred in July 1940 and continued sporadically throughout the remainder of that year, and indeed for the rest of the war. The raid that killed baby Jane occurred at 22.15 hrs on the night of 9th November 1940, when a lone aircraft dropped a stick of 10 H.E. bombs in the Knyveton Road area. The bombs severely damaged or destroyed two properties in Spencer Road killing four people including baby Jane, and seriously injuring two others. Those killed were Jane Ann Pearce, the 5 month old daughter of a Captain Denham Pearce at no. 29, and at no. 19, James Mitchell age 69, his wife Fanny Jane Mitchell age 68, and Lily Mugg age 47. Although it's sad to see that the grave of baby Jane is not being maintained, it is perhaps worth pointing out that the graves of civilian casualties are not normally the responsibility of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The organisation does however commemorate all civilian war deaths due to enemy action throughout 1939-1945, in the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour, located near St. George's Chapel in Westminster Abbey. The CWGC Memorial to Jane Ann Pearce: https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/3111088/pearce,-jane-ann/ Image

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