Of the many civilians whose deaths were due to enemy action in 1939 – 1945 War, the names of more than 67,000 are commemorated in the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour, located near St George’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey in London.

Margaret Wallace was born on 23 April 1904 to parents William and Mary. She had 5 siblings. Her father was a miner/stoneman.

In 1927 Margaret married Samuel Wilkinson in the Easington Register area. They went on to have 2 children, Patricia and Norman.

The 1939 Register shows that the couple are living at 9 Frederick Street, Seaham Harbour. Samuel was an unemployed colliery hauler at that time.

From 9 February 1941 until 5 March 1941 there were particularly heavy bombardments in the North East region of England during which many homes were destroyed and casualties sustained.

On Sunday 16 February HE (high explosive) bombs were dropped at Seaham Harbour destroying 4 houses and damaging others. A slight outbreak of fire was extinguished. The bridge across the railway over Lord Street was destroyed and the road blocked.

Men, women and children were trapped in a subway when a bomb fell on it. However it was on Frederick Street that the fatalities occurred.

Three members of the Wilkinson family living at 9 Frederick Street were killed. They were Margaret Wilkinson (aged 36 years) who was mother to 2 children Patricia (aged 4 years) and baby Norman who was only 21 months old.

All 3 are listed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

By the end of the war over 7,000 civilians in this region were killed or maimed by bombing raids.

Additional information from North East Diary 1939-45

The Wilkinson family are remembered at Seaham Harbour on S117.09 and S117.26

The CWGC entry for Mrs Margaret Wilkinson
The CWGC entry for Patricia Wilkinson
The CWGC entry for Norman Wilkinson