Son appeals for information about mother who died in Hastings

The son of a woman who died in Hastings has made an appeal to speak to anybody who may have known her.
Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?
Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?

Levi Jones, who lives in North Wales, believes his mother Jane Hilda Rayner moved to Hastings around 1977 shortly after her marriage ended.

He said she worked as a nurse before her death in 1983.

Mr Jones, who is now 45 and has children of his own, wants to learn more about his mother’s life.

Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?
Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?
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He said: “My mother had a tough life. My mother was of mixed race – half her family are of Jamaican origin – and adopted when she was young by a family in North Wales.

“At the age of 16 or 17 she started dating my father but it was not an ideal match.

“When she was 18, she was involved in an accident in which my dad was driving. My mother’s face was disfigured.”

He added: “My parents decided to get married and had two children – firstly me in 1973 and then my brother Leon in 1975.

Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?
Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?
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“However, around 1976 or 1977, my mother ended her relationship with my father and decided to leave and take off. It was all ‘hush hush’ but I never saw her again other than through letters and pictures that were kept from me and my brother and stored in the loft.”

Mr Jones said he can still remember clearly a day in 1983 when the police came knocking on his door asking to speak to his father.

He added: “They were there to tell my father the tragic news that she (my mother) had passed away. That was in Hastings – she was nursing down there.”

Last year, Mr Jones and his children travelled down to Hastings as part of a road trip and visited a cemetery to see if they could find her grave.

Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?
Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner?
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He said she did not have one but was told she had a plaque in a part of the cemetery which he hopes to find one day.

He added: “I just want to speak to somebody that knew her. The stories that we have got are very vague.

“We were both kids (he and his brother) at the time and I think I know the reasons why she left but it would be nice to speak to somebody about her.

“It would just be nice to get any information – I’m not searching for anything in particular.”

Did you know Jane Hilda Rayner? Please contact Mr Jones or 07814 345733.

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