Memorials and Dedications
This page is dedicated to family, friends and supporters of the group, who wish to remember loved ones that were passionate about Allington Hill, Coopers Wood and Field, it’s wildlife and local community.
This will stand as a permanent reminder of volunteers, memorial trees ( marked with What3Words, ) plaques and donations.
If you wish to contribute to this page please contact allingtonhill@gmail.com
As of 2024, at the moment we have no space for planting of memorial trees. Please contact us to discuss other options.
Please note this page was created Sept 2024 and will be updated over the coming months.
Alan Ashpool. Supported Wildflower meadow and Snowdrop projects
We were sorry to hear of Alan Ashpool's passing. He was a lovely man and so knowledgeable on all things wildflowers. He was a great help to Cathy and Chris when setting up the wildflower meadows and he often dropped by with seeds he had specially saved for the meadow. Alan was involved in the Marshwood Vale Snowdrop project and took Cathy and Chris on an adventure to a friend's house in Whitchurch Canonicorum. The garden was used as a donor site for snowdrops and those we collected were planted in Cooper’s Wood. We will miss him.
Christine Stansfield, Sponsor of The Young Volunteer of the Year award.
We are saddened to hear of the passing of Christine, wife of Gerald Stansfield. A memorial bench to Gerald is placed at the top of the field. He and his guide dogs were much loved by the local community. After Geralds death, Christine moved away. She always kept in touch and sponsored the Junior Volunteer of the Year award and was very supportive of the activities and events. In her memory, we will continue award the trophy, to encourage young children to volunteer and look after the area for the benefit of wildlife and the local community.
Hello everyone, on your walk around the hill with your dog you might notice some flowers on and around one of the bench seats, the last time I did this was when and why the bench was placed here.
When my Father Gerald Stansfield died on the 3rd April 2006 I spread his ashes as this was his daily routine walk, unfortunately on the 3rd April 2024 my mother Christine Stansfield ( Jarvis then woodward )(wife to Gerald ) died exactly 18 years later, we had a lovely service in Northwich crematorium and I was able to get her ashes the following day, I then drove down to Bridport and did the same with my mums ashes as I did with dad's, so they are now back together. When they we're alive and lived at 33 cherry tree they would look at this area every single day.
The difference between the two occasions is the new and impressive wooded area that I saw when first planted and now completely transformed into a lovely wooded walking area, everyone involved in looking after this place are doing an awesome job well done. Ray Stansfield Samantha Fawley Jackie Artingstall Judith Butler ( their 3 daughters).
Dorothy Bartlett 1934 -2012 ( Dorothy's family gave a generous donation to help furbish the new workshop 2024. )
Dorothy Watkins was born in August 1934. Her father Herbert Watkins, an Able Seaman with the Royal Naval from 1913 to 1946, was married to Elsie May Kinman, and Dorothy was the youngest of their 4 children.
The family lived in Portsmouth whilst Bert was away at sea, and Dorothy and her sister Jean were evacuated to Scotland early in WW2. This was a miserable time for both the girls and Elsie, who missed them terribly and she arranged for their return to Portsmouth. Tragically the family’s home in Farlington was destroyed during a night of enemy bombing, and Dorothy and Jean were the only survivors.
Both sisters spent the rest of the war with their Aunt Edie, and then with Bert living in the Sussex countryside when he was de-mobbed and began work as a gamekeeper. This may be where Dorothy’s love of the countryside, wildlife and animals started. The sisters then moved to London during the 1950’s and whilst living together they both qualified as Vet Nurses. They both worked for the RSPCA and Dorothy recalled a phone conversation one evening with an angry Spike Milligan, demanding that someone come and rescue a cat sat out in the rain.
Dorothy married Derek Bartlett in the 1960’s and had 4 sons between 1963 and 1973. The family moved around with Derek’s jobs, living in Staffordshire and the Isle of White before coming to Dorset, and finally settling on a former farm between Marshwood and Lyme Regis. Here they kept a variety of animals including dogs, cats, Guernsey cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and a pig. As well as looking after 4 sons and all these animals Dorothy worked part time as a night carer at Sidney Gale Old Peoples Home in Bridport for 18 years, and then ran a holiday accommodation business at the farm well into their retirement.
In the late 1980’s/early 90’s Dorothy and Derek holidayed in Europe and also made a trip to Peru which included a visit to Machu Picchu. Derek died shortly after retirement in 1998 and Dorothy sold the farm and moved to Park Rd in Bridport. She lived happily here with her dogs, and fell in love with Allington Hill on the daily walks. She still had time to campaign for animal welfare though, and travelled to Romania in the 2000‘s with sister Jean to volunteer at a bear sanctuary.
She made one last move to Burton Bradstock, and here she enjoyed living close to the beach with regular visits from her granddaughters Fern and Kirsten, and the many friends she made in Bridport. Dorothys restless spirit was taken too soon in 2012. She would be delighted to know that her memory lives on at Allington, a place that was very dear to her heart.
