BOURNEMOUTH historian Angela Beleznay (née Road) was born on September 13, 1956, in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

When her family moved to Poole, Mrs Beleznay attended Henry Harbin School, and on leaving she joined the civil service where she met her future husband Geoffrey.

They married in December 1976 and set up home in Southbourne, where they lived for more than 37 years.

Shortly after her marriage Mrs Beleznay was forced to give up work due to health problems, however she kept herself busy with a wide range of interests.

She enjoyed various arts and crafts such as doll making and jewellery repair, she made her own clothes and took an active role in the WI.

She found naval history fascinating and managed to trace her family back to the Crimean War. The history of Bournemouth also interested her and she carried out research into the church near her home producing a paper on who was buried there.

While working on another project she discovered that a number of airmen were killed in Bournemouth on May 23, 1943, during a Second World War air raid.

Her curiosity was aroused and she set out to discover the events behind this terrible tragedy.

After extensive research from every source available she wrote a book about this event producing a comprehensive account.

The work took her five years to complete due to her ill health, but eventually her book ‘Incident 48, Raid on a South Coast Town’ was published.

At the same time Mrs Beleznay was pursuing a tireless campaign to get a memorial erected for the people who died in the air raid that day.

Her efforts finally paid off when the memorial was unveiled on May 23, 2013, at the Lansdowne – one of the areas which had been devastated by the bombs, exactly 70 years after the event.

Mrs Beleznay underwent major heart surgery at the end of 2013.

Although the operation was successful, it had weakened her and she struggled to get better but after suffering many setbacks she died peacefully on August 5 in the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, aged 57.

She is survived by her loving husband Geoffrey, her father Graham and her brother Richard.

She will be remembered for her resilience, tenacity and intelligence and will be sorely missed by those who had the pleasure of knowing her.

A funeral service will take place on September 1 at Bournemouth Crematorium.