In the late hours of Monday 14th April/early hours of Tuesday 15th April 1941 (this was the Easter Holiday which came to be known as "Black Easter") 15 Queen's Road, Portland was demolished by a World War two bomb killing 6 members of the Farwell family and an unborn child of about 8 months. 

There would have been about nine members of this large family at Queen's Road on that night: Archer (dad), Nellie (mum), Charles Walter (Babe), his pregnant wife Charlotte (Lottie), MARION (Dinah), Cecil (Albert), Lionel and Peter. The eldest son, Archie, was away at sea and served on the Arctic Convoys, whilst elder daughters Doll and Lil were married as was son Les. Arthur (Len) lived at the family home but was attending the Easter Dance. The previous week had been son Les's wedding. Les was a Lance Bombardier with 103/522 Coastal Regiment whilst Len served in Africa.

On that fateful evening the three youngest boys, Albert 16, Lionel 11 and my father Peter 9, were luckily sleeping in the Anderson Shelter in the garden. The bomb was a direct hit on the property leaving 6 members of the family dead whilst the three youngest boys were terrifyingly buried in debris. Rescuers dug frantically from the outside trying to free them. Fifteen hours later the boys emerged with fingers raw and bleeding. The physical injuries including perforated eardrums would heal but the loss of their parent, siblings and home left the inevitable scars. Albert was rehomed with sister Lil on the Island whilst Peter and Lionel were moved away from familiar surroundings to live with sister Doll in Ealing.

Marion was not so lucky. Born Rosalind Marion Diana on the Island on the 23rd July 1926 she was just 14 when she died. The family always called her Dinah because of her dark skin. She and her sister Violet had been out earlier that evening babysitting their cousin Pat who was three little knowing that this would be the last time they would see each other. So destructive was the bomb that identifications had to be done by tattoos and jewellery. Dinah could not be identified and so was not issued with a death certificate. Her life and death are however recognised on the Portland Cenotaph and on the register of WWII civilian deaths

Rest in Peace Little One. In Death not Divided