Douglas Edgar Watkins

Douglas Edgar Watkins – Civil Servant of Swansea and Harrow

Early Life and Family Background

Douglas Edgar Watkins was born in 1892 in Ross, Herefordshire, the son of Evan and Elizabeth Watkins. 

1901 Census

By the time of the 1901 Census, the family were living at 15 Rugby Road, Newport, Monmouthshire. Evan was absent from the household on census night, but Elizabeth, then 43, was recorded with their children: Evelyn, 18, working as a milliner; Maud, 16, a bookkeeper; Gladys, 14; Evan, 12; Douglas, 10; Gwendoline, 6; and Eleanor, aged 4. The census captures a large, active household with several children already entering skilled employment.

1911 Census

By 1911, the Watkins family had moved to 45 Cromwell Terrace, Swansea. Evan, now 62, was serving as a Baptist Minister, while Elizabeth, aged 53, continued to manage the home. Several of their adult children remained in the household: Maude, 26, working as a ledger clerk; Gladys, 24, employed as a cashier; Evan, 22, working as an assurance agent; and Douglas, then 20, employed as a shipping clerk. Their younger daughters, Gwenie, 16, and Grace, 14, were also still living at home. The family’s move to Swansea marked a period of stability and professional development for the children.

1921 Census

Evan Watkins died in 1912, but the family continued to live at 45 Cromwell Terrace. The 1921 Census records Elizabeth, now 63, living with three of her adult children. Maud, aged 36, was employed as a typist with Enoch & Co. Ltd.; Douglas, aged 30, was working as a temporary civil service clerk with the Board of Trade Mercantile Marine Office; and Gwendoline, aged 26, was a telegraphist with the Great Western Railway. By this time, Douglas was firmly established in government service, a career he would continue for the rest of his life.

Marriage and Later Life

1939 Register

Douglas later married Minnie Watkins, and by the 1939 Register the couple were living at 26 Hunters Grove, Kenton, Harrow, Middlesex. Douglas was employed as a Civil Servant, continuing the clerical and administrative work he had begun in Swansea.

Death During the Final Bombing of London – 9^th March 1945

Douglas died at his home, 26 Hunters Grove, on 9^th March 1945, during the final phase of the German bombing campaign against Britain. By early 1945, London and its surrounding suburbs—including Harrow, Kenton, and Stanmore—were being struck by V‑2 rockets, the world’s first long‑range ballistic missiles. These weapons travelled faster than the speed of sound, arrived without warning, and caused devastating blast damage over a wide radius.

Between 1^st and 15^th March 1945, multiple V‑2 rockets fell across north‑west London, causing widespread destruction and numerous civilian deaths. The pattern of attacks during this period shows that residential streets such as Hunters Grove were at significant risk. Although individual house‑level incident logs for Harrow on this exact date are not publicly digitised, the timing, location, and circumstances of Douglas’s death strongly indicate that he was killed by the blast effects of one of these late‑war V‑weapon strikes.

Burial

Douglas was buried at Harrow Weald Cemetery, Stanmore, bringing to a close a life that had taken him from Herefordshire to Newport, Swansea, and finally to Middlesex