Esther Maria Blencowe [6800]

1907-1940

Father Nm: Thomas William Blincowe [4907]^ born 3.1.1857 Bicester died 1928 St Olave.	Mother Nm: Mary Hannah Green [3337] 1892 nr Greenwich

 

Marriage Dt:

K comments: Father Thomas William served in the Anglo- South African war with the 4th Battalion The West Yorkshire Reg (Price of Wales Own)

WW1: Brother Thomas William served with the 351st Brigade,(Howitzer) Royal Field Artillery .Brother Richard served with the East Surrey Regiment and Labour Corps,

WW2: Sister May Edith served with the WAAF and brother James served with the Royal Artillery in WW2.
Spouse comments:

Children.

BORN 1907

31 March 1907 in Rotherhithe

Esther probably lived all her life at 11 Temeraire St Rotherhithe, the family moved from nearby Clarence St to this location sometime between 1910-1911. The street names after the HMS Temeraire a famous fighting ship whose timbers were used in the rebuilding of nearby St Mary’s Church. The ship also the subject of a famous painting by JMW Turner.

1911 CENSUS

11 Temeraire St Rotherhithe

Name Age
Thomas Blencowe 54
Mary Hannah Blencowe 47
Thomas Blencowe 17
Richard Blencowe 16
May Blencowe 14
Rose Blencowe 13
Florence Blencowe 8
James Blencowe 6
Esther Blencowe 4
William Green 6
Katherine Green 4

1935

11 Temeraire St Rotherhithe living with Mother Hannah a widow.

Note

Esther was a Civilian Casualty in 1940 but to the exact circumstances we can at this stage only report what the Commonwealth War Graves Commision has reported and then speculate on dates, reason and exact location.

1939

• Esther living on her own at 11 Temeraire St Rotherhithe. Esther is a Laboratory Assistant Manufacturing Chemist Plant which could have been Munitions related.

1940

• 21 September Killed or Died of Injuries. In the 14th day of the ‘London Blitz’ Esther is recorded by CWGC as killed by a bomb blast on Llewelyn St in Bermondsey. The 21st was a Saturday and quite why Esther was in this area is unknown. Two possibilities are;
  • Llewelyn St near to or exactly where she worked and it being wartime Saturday she was at work or returning home.
  • Visiting a friend in the area and just walking/running to air raid shelter got caught on the street.
  • Daphne Austin has suggested the fatal injury could have been earlier and Esther died of the injuries on this date she also recalls a female Air Warden who was injured and died later. Esther could have been in this location on those duties
• One thing is for certain that being near the docks and with manufacturing around it was a central target of the German bombardment strategy in Sept 1940.
• As to the question did she work in this area ie Laboratory connected to a manufacturing plant  A Lily Jupe who lived on Llewelyn in the blitz recalls it had a Factory called Lanes which her mother worked at and she packed bullets in it. Strangely she doesn’t recall the death of Esther or a serious bombing but maybe she was very young in 1940 and unaware.

The journey from Esther’s home in Rotherhithe to Llewelyn St was not far, a walk or short bus ride away.

Note:  I scanned all the London papers for coverage of this event and while there are stories of bombings, the newspapers at the time in an effort not to give away intelligence to the enemy did not specify streets locations etc. The London Metropolitan Archives may reveal overtime as they are made available online what happened and when.

The document Homefront Southwark by Dr Patricia Dark, Archivist, Southwark Council has some great photos and information about the area in the Blitz. See sources below.

MEDALS

As a civilian casualty involved in Munitions work, Esther should have been eligible for the posthumous award of the Defence Medal

SOURCES

1. 1. Ancestry  and BFA database
   2. London Metroplolitan Archives
   3. Homefront Southwark

DEATH 21 september 1940

Esther Maria Blencowe
BIRTH 31 Mar 1907
DEATH 21 Sep 1940 (aged 33)
BURIAL
Hither Green Cemetery and Crematorium
Lewisham, London Borough of Lewisham, Greater London, England
PLOT Section FF Grave 324

Commemerated at Westminster Abbey and St pauls

Esther is recorded in  The Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour 1939 – 1945, lists more than 66,500 civilians who died during the Second World War. The people of London who died in the Blitz are remembered with this understated memorial at St Pauls Cathedral

GALLERY

This photo from the London Picture archive looks very like the structure of the bombed building shown above. It may not be the very same building but a good indicator of the type of houses on the street.