COMMUNITY figure Edna Phillips-Pitman (née Travis), who was fondly known as ‘Mother Christmas’, has died aged 91.

Born on June 21, 1926, just two months after Queen Elizabeth, Edna was the eldest of five siblings living in Boscombe.

During the war, she became a nurse. She would recall the thousands of American and Canadian soldiers that were stationed in and around the town around the time of D-Day. Little did she know that 50 years later she would lead and organise Operation Friendly Invasion, whereby hundreds of these troops returned to the town and marched in memory of those that gave their lives.

Edna met her husband, Michael (Phil) Phillips-Pitman in 1948, and they lived together with their three sons Barry, Terry and Steve in Castle Lane until 1980.

Edna and Michael soon found a common interest in carnivals. In 1964 Bournemouth Regatta was just a rowing event for local rowing clubs. Edna and Michael proposed to the organisers the idea of bringing back the magic of the Boscombe carnivals of the 1930 and 40s. They were given the go ahead and, year on year, developed the carnival into what became the Bournemouth Regatta Week. At its peak the carnival was over a mile long, with many marching bands and majorettes attending from all around the world.

In 1972 Edna and Michael asked Bournemouth council whether they would pay for a Christmas parade. The council refused and were branded as humbugs by the press. This did not, however, prevent Edna and Michael organising the Bournemouth Christmas Parade. Every year during the seventies the couple organised the Christmas Parade, with Edna earning the title ‘Mother Christmas’ from the children of the town.

One of Edna’s proudest days was seeing her eldest son, Barry, receive his MBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in October 2003. Barry had clearly inherited his parents' talent for helping others. He raised thousands of pounds for local charities and organised the Mayor of Poole's charity events and fetes for many years.

In 1979, Michael tragically died after suffering a heart attack. Edna was devastated but went on to carry out Operation Friendly Invasion, which they had both planned for several years, in his memory.

She rode at the head of the parade, which included ex-servicemen from the legendary US 1st Airbourne Division (Screaming Eagles) and 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.

Edna retired from organising carnivals in 1985, stating that it ‘just wasn't the same’ without Michael at her side anymore. She had given over 20 years of her life to the town of Bournemouth and carnivals throughout the south. On June 25, 2016, she celebrated her 90th birthday at the Cumberland Hotel in Bournemouth. Her family travelled from as far away as Germany to celebrate the event, with Bournemouth's Land Girls singing songs from the 40s and 50s.

Edna died on Sunday, December 10, and her funeral was held on Wednesday at Bournemouth Crematorium.