Dougal Henry Evemy

The last civilian in the Chelmsford area killed by enemy action was thought to be Dougal Evemy in February 1945 aged 37.

Dougal was born in Boldre, near Lymington on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire on 5th July 1907 to Albert Evemy and his wife Elizabeth nee McAra. In 1911 Albert was employed as a New Forest Agister and Marksman, responsible for the care and well being of the ponies, cattle and other livestock, the property of commoners, who had the right to graze livestock on the open ground of the forest, and collect the necessary fees hence marksman. By 1921 he described himself as a farmer. As well as Dougal, popularly known as Duke, there were five other siblings mentioned in the censuses.

By 1939 Duke was living at Woodham Ferrers with Harry Hills, a cowman and his wife at 9 Chapel Row. Duke was also described as a cowman.

In 1942 he married Marie Joan Wool a native of Woodham Ferrers at St Mary’s Church and settled into domestic life at a house called Mon Abri, previously occupied by the headmistress from the local church school, Sylvia Jarvis. This property was just a few doors away from the Wool family home at Number 3 Council House. Marie was the daughter of Edwin Wool, a superintendent at the sewerage works and his wife Annie.

The couple’s first child was Barrie born in 1943. On the morning of 18th February 1945 at 7.32 in the morning whilst Duke was working at Brazil’s Farm milking cows the farm was struck by a V2 rocket which had been launched from Battery 3/485 in Den Haag in the Netherlands. In addition to killing ten cows and three pigs it injured four people one of them seriously. Noel Whitworth, aged 40 whose three brothers are mentioned on the World War One memorial, had luckily for him, just stepped out of the cowshed into the field to answer a call of nature but he still had to go to hospital with head wounds.

The rocket is said to have demolished several farm buildings, made the farm house uninhabitable and left a crater forty feet across and twelve feet deep. Sadly Duke was so badly injured that he died in the ambulance on his way to hospital. His death certificate described him as a farm assistant and the death was registered by Marie’s brother Jack. Duke was subsequently buried in St Mary’s Churchyard on 24th February. Duke’s death was said to have been the final civilian fatality in the Chelmsford area.

Within a few months Marie gave birth to the couple’s second child Kay. Duke was just thirty seven years old and left a widow and two children.

Marie remarried in 1955 to James Harkness.