Died: 11 Sandbach Place, Woolwich
Address / Local links: 53 Plymstock Road, Welling
Family / Relatives: Daughter of Joseph and Ethel E Wisdom of 43 Glyndon Road. Wife of Sydney Albert Lovey
August 1944 saw the allies making slow but steady progress in Normandy, following on from the D-Day landings earlier that summer…However, for many local residents, the war on the Home Front was still far from finished, as Hitler’s V1 rockets – “Doodlebugs” – continued to bring terror from the skies above S E London…
A brief record for 3rd August 1944 states; “V1 flying bomb landed at Sandbach Place and Maxey Road (Plumstead). 4 dead and 29 badly injured”…Among these casualties were Sydney and Dorothy Lovey of 53 Plymstock Road, Welling.
Dorothy May Wisdom was born in Plumstead on 26th June 1920. Part of a large family, she had three brothers and three sisters (although sadly one sister died aged just 4). She was the daughter of Joseph Wisdom (1893–1945) a coal vendor and Ethel Elizabeth Cash (1895–1985).
In October 1942 she married Sydney Albert Lovey in Woolwich. Records list Dorothy’s address before this was 182 Swingate Lane in Plumstead, the town where most of her family lived.
Other than this, very little is known about Dorothy and her life – but this life ended on 3rd August 1944 at 11 Sandbach Place, the home of her brother James Wisdom and his wife Stella. Both Sydney and Dorothy died there when the Doodlebug struck…
They were buried together at Plumstead Cemetery. Their headstone reads: IN TREASURED MEMORY OF SIDNEY ALBERT LOVEY AGED 26 YEARS AND HIS DARLING WIFE DOROTHY (NEE WISDOM) AGED 24 YEARS WHO WERE KILLED BY ENEMY ACTION 3RD AUGUST 1944 – ‘Together’
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If anyone is able to add any extra information, provide more family details, or suggest any corrections, please let us know – also, if anyone has any more photos of this individual listed on our memorials, please get in touch. Thank you.
Commemorated
- St. Michael’s East Wickham Church Memorial Tablet
- Woolwich Metropolitan Borough Civilian Records
This story has been researched by volunteers. We have taken every effort to ensure its accuracy. If you are related to Dorothy May Lovey, or if you have any further information, please do get in touch.