A family who had members fleeing war nearly a century ago are honouring the memory of their mother while setting up a fund to help Ukrainian refugees.

Tauranga osteopath Andrew Wilson from Wilson Osteopaths in Seventh Ave says he felt particularly moved to set up the Hella Wilson Memorial Fund in his mother's name, when he saw images on television of Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia.

'The families - the wives and children being seen off on the train as refugees and the fathers having to stay behind and fight, and everybody crying, because they didn't know if they'd ever see each other again -it suddenly hit me that that was my family's story,” says Andrew.

'They just left with suitcases and I was really moved by that. And as my mother had a particularly strong interest in refugees, I thought, well, there's not much we can do, but we can do something.

'So in my mother's name, we decided to set up a trust and at the clinic we've decided to make a big effort ourselves for every patient who arrives at the clinic in August, we are going to donate $5. And we also invite them to match that $5.”

Andrew's parents, both pioneers of osteopathy in Tauranga.

'My mother, Hella Wilson (nè Stepanova) was born in the Ukraine region of the USSR in 1938, and spent her early years fleeing the dangers of WW2 with her mother and older sister,” says Andrew's sister Maddy Maxwell.

'We are in the midst of another devastating war, with Russian once again turning against the Ukrainian community and causing terrible suffering - millions of refugees need assistance.”

Andrew and Maddy's sister Jenny Tebbutt says their mother was an active Tauranga community member playing a key part in several community groups including the Tauranga Ethnic Council – now known as Tauranga Multicultural.

'She was herself a refugee as a result of the Second World War and our family had strong links to Ukraine.”

Hella, bon in 1938, passed away about 12 years ago at the age of 72 after getting ovarian cancer. Before she died she wrote her own story of her family's escape from war.

Hella Wilson' story in her own words:

My name is Hella Wilson. My Russian name is Svetlana Vladimirovna Stepanova. I have never used my Russian name because it was too dangerous. I was born in Yeupatoria, Crimea, Russia (it is now Ukraine).

Yeupatoria is a large city. It has always been a health resort on the shores of the Black Sea. The climate and situation is not unlike Tauranga and it is somewhat like the Mediterranean (a long time ago it was Greek). I lived there with my father Vladimir Nikolivital Stepanov, my mother Ida, my sister Rufina and grandparents Emilia and Georg Schaubert.

Hella Wilson. Photo: Supplied.

When I was only one year old World War II broke out. Three years later my father was called for military service. He had no military training as he was a veterinary surgeon. So my mother, sister, myself, grandparents and other relations had to leave our home. We were evacuated to the Caucasus, a mountain region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Because we were of German descent (some of our ancestors arrived in Russia around 1750) we were suddenly treated as enemies. The authorities were going to decide what to do with us next. We never heard from my father again and it was assumed he had fallen in the war.

My mother decided to act and get us out of Russia to Germany. We were lucky! We managed to flee in front of the German front. It was a slow process; we travelled by goods train, train, any way possible. Our other relatives were taken to Siberia and we did not hear from them for 15 years.

We stopped in several places, sometimes for a few months. My mother was always able to get work as she was an engineer. She worked in factories as there was a lack of men. We got to the city of Dresden, a beautiful cultural city, two hours before it was devastated by firebombs. As soon as we arrived we were told – you have to move on quickly, the war is coming.

There was a train standing so we threw a few things through an open window and jumped on the train. A few minutes later it left. For several nights as we were travelling, we saw the fires of Dresden burning. We did not have many possessions but my mother made sure we always travelled with our eiderdowns and Russian felt boots. Just as well, as we experienced heavy winters.

In Poland we officially became 'German” and arrived early 1945 in the village of Heroldsbade in Germany. My mother always said, we were quite lucky as we never experienced or witnessed anything really terrible, although it was all around us.

- Hella Wilson

Life in New Zealand

'Hella finished her schooling in Germany, then met an Englishman stationed in Germany after the war, and moved to England,” says Maddy.

'Five children and a new husband later, she immigrated to New Zealand. Hella had many experiences of moving to a new country in difficult circumstances, and in her later years she was president of the Tauranga Multi Ethnic Council, focusing much of her energy into helping new immigrants adapt to life in New Zealand.”

Tauranga osteopath Andrew Wilson and his siblings have set up the Hella Wilson Memorial Fund to help raise funds for Ukrainian refugees. Photo: Bob Tulloch.

Hella and her husband both worked in Tauranga as osteopaths.

'My father went overseas after they separated and she started working at 59 Seventh Avenue on her own account. She was very successful,” says Andrew.

'She had a very good way with people and her sort of German mannerisms went down very well with the people of Tauranga. She was very busy. I came back from UK, having trained as an osteopath, to visit my mother and my kid sisters and she said 'you must stay and help me out, I'm so busy”. My initial response was 'well, actually, I've got a ticket on to Sydney. I'm going to make my fame and fortune there”. But I'm still here now.”

Outside Wilson Osteopathy at 63 Seventh Ave is a memorial to Hella Wilson.

Tauranga Osteopath Andrew Wilson with the memorial to Hella Wilson in Seventh Ave. Photo: Bob Tulloch.

'Mum had a particular insight into life as a refugee. Her father, who was a vet, was conscripted to fight for the Russians - and never made it home,” says Jenny.

'When I think of my mother's story, I feel privileged to be her daughter, very sad to be missing her these last 14 years, and incredibly thankful for the journeys she has taken. Please help us help the people who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine, and to honour and remember this amazing woman and mother.”

The Hella Wilson Memorial Fund has been set up through ReliefAid, specifically to help the people of the Ukraine.

‘We will ensure that 100 per cent of the fundraising proceeds go the Ukrainian refugee community who are in desperate need of help,” says Jenny.

'We've already reached about $5000,” says Andrew. 'We're really heartened by the response. Everybody is so empathetic and wish they could do something, and when they see somebody is doing something, they're very keen to do their little bit too.'

Direct contributions to the Hella Wilson Memorial Fund can be made by donating to BNZ 02-0432-0068420-002.