Thanks to Jean’s efforts, city’s World War Two heroes are not forgotten
IN 2016, tenacious pensioner Jean Louth succeeded in her quest to finally honour all those from the city killed during the Second World War.
Then aged 82, Jean had been fighting for more than 27 years to create a monument to immortalise hundreds of ‘unsung heroes’ killed by Nazi bombers in the Blitz.
Mrs Louth’s work had already seen the names of hundreds of RAF and army personnel from the area killed in the conflict between 1939-1945 added to Portsmouth’s war memorial in Guildhall Square.
But her campaign finally saw an additional 1,000 civilians from the city killed during the six-year war added to the memorial, alongside the 2,000 servicemen and women already on the monument.
Speaking at the time, Mrs Louth, of Wakefords Way, West Leigh, said: ‘It has taken 27 years but now we’re there. I’m thrilled.
‘There was nothing paying tribute to the civilian men and women who were killed in Portsmouth.
‘These men and women were heroes. They were ambulance drivers and police officers who were doing their duty trying to help people in Portsmouth during the Blitz.’
To mark D-Day 75 in 2019, Portsmouth City Council launched a novel memorial effort to commemorate the 119 men who died storming the beaches of Normandy and the subsequent battle to retake France.
The council created plaques to honour the troops, which were installed in the streets where the men lived before they departed for France.
The Portsmouth men honoured represented all branches of the armed forces – the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force – as well as the Merchant Navy.
They range in age from 16-year-old Private Robert Johns, who served with the Parachute Regiment, to 47-year-old Warrant Engineer William Smith, who was killed when HMS Mourne was torpedoed.