A DAUGHTER has paid tribute to a woman who died in a house fire in Andover.
Angelika Ballard, aged 63, was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services rushed to her home in Bremen Gardens in Saxon Fields on July 10.
Her daughter Julia Perry has described her mother as “compassionate, kind and inspiring” and said she “lit up” around her seven-year-old grandson William and cared deeply about her family and close circle of friends.
Julia, who lives in Anton Road, was contacted by her mum’s worried neighbour on Friday afternoon.
“I got a call from one of the neighbours at 1.11pm saying there is a smoke alarm going off at your mum’s house, she’s not coming to the door, we can’t get in,” she said.
“My partner was at work. I don’t drive. I said I’ll come over straight away because I had a spare key. I ordered a taxi and as I stood on the driveway, I had a message from my partner saying someone has put something on Facebook about a fire in Saxon Fields.
“At the same time, I heard the fire engines. That’s when I felt something wasn’t right, I can’t explain it,” she said.
As the taxi approached the cul-de-sac she said: “I could see people standing outside their houses, looking down the road. We stopped because we couldn’t go any further. I saw the firefighters had attached their pump to the hydrant and that’s when I knew there must have been a fire.
The mother-of-one screamed and said: “I just thought, ‘Oh my god, I need to go. I need to go to my mum.’”
Julia ran out of the taxi with her seven-year-old son in tow and as she got round the corner, was devastated to see the fire had reached the upstairs of the property.
“I saw her house. I looked up and saw how bad it was and I just knew I was too late.”
Julia said: “I am devastated. I am the only one my mum has here. All my family are in Germany. She had been poorly for quite some time. Because of Covid, I can’t remember the last time I hugged her which is so sad. But I do remember our last conversation she was saying how proud she was of me because I’d worked so hard to set up my own child-minding business.”
Emotionally, as Julia returned to her mum’s house over the weekend to get her belongings she found a card and a letter from her mother addressed to her, many years ago, which told her how much she loved her and why it was important to love yourself.
“We were very alike, stubborn in our own rights and we would have our ups and downs as any mother and daughter would but she was always such a fighter and such a strong woman, whatever she put her mind to, she did,” Julia said.
Julia said she wanted to pay tribute to Angelika: “I wish I had told her how much I loved her.”
She urged family members out there not to hold back emotions, she said: “If you want to call someone, call someone. If you want to speak to someone, do it. Don’t put it off. “
“She was always a single parent and it was only ever just me and my mum. But I drew so much strength and really learnt was what possible through her strength. She was able to get through all sorts of things,” Julia told The Advertiser.
Angelika, who moved to the area from Germany with her only child in 1995, initially lived in Tidworth where her then-husband, a British solider, served in the army.
Julia recalls: “She started a German takeaway service called Delicatessen at the army quarters and it was really popular. It was nice for the soldiers to be able to have authentic German food. She appeared on television doing cooking demonstrations. She really poured her heart and soul into it.”
The 63-year-old may also be remembered through her time at Ludgershall Garden Centre where she ran a café.
Julia said she has been “overwhelmed” by the love and support, not just from friends and family, but also neighbours and strangers.
She said: “I’m so overwhelmed by their love. I’ve always been very independent and over the last few days I’ve learnt it’s ok to accept help.”
Julia added: “I would also like to thank Pure Cremations at Charlton Park Crematorium as they have shown me great kindness and have gone out of their way to make saying goodbye to my mum possible.”
Due to the current pandemic, memorial plans are to be announced. The family will be having a private cremation and a memorial event where friends and loved ones are welcome, at a later date which will be published in paper.
A spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue said: “Officers were called to attend a house fire in Bremen Gardens, Andover, at 1.18pm on Friday, July 10.
“Colleagues from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service extinguished the fire.
“Sadly the body of a 63-year-old woman was found inside the property. Her next-of-kin have been informed.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file is being prepared for the coroner.”
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