Emily Douglas lived with her family at 8 Ballynure Street off the Oldpark Road in North Belfast. She died alongside her five children during the Belfast Blitz on the 15th-16th April 1941.
The inscription on the Douglas headstone reads:
Beloved wife of William Douglas Royal Artillery. Also my five children Sammy, Billie, Jim, Peggy and Sally. Died as a result of enemy action 16th April 1941.
Emily Douglas was the wife of William Douglas who was overseas serving with the Royal Artillery in April 1941. She was 29 years old when killed by the Luftwaffe raid.
Mother and children killed
Records show other fatalities from the Ballynure Street house included Samuel “Sammy” Douglas (9 years), William “Billie” Douglas (8 years), James “Jim” Douglas (7 years), Margaret “Peggy” Douglas (5 years), Sarah “Sally” Douglas (12 months).
Six members of the Douglas family died on the night of 15th-16th April 1941 when the Luftwaffe attacked Belfast in what became known as the Easter Blitz. The family lived at 8 Ballynure Street off the Oldpark Road, North Belfast. Head of the household, William Douglas was overseas with the Royal Artillery at the time of the attack. Photo taken on 20th May 2017. Copyright Scott Edgar – World War Two Northern Ireland.
All Emily and William’s children are commemorated on the family grave. Records suggest that bodies of Samuel and James were never found.
Remembering Emily Douglas
Ballynure Street was devastated in the Easter Raid. Two years later, only six of the thirty-eight houses had been reoccupied. The Belfast Street Directory listed numbers 1-19 and 2-38 as vacant ground.
The Douglas family grave is in Belfast City Cemetery, Belfast, Co. Antrim. Emily Douglas and her children were buried on 22nd April 1941.