Is this one of those urban myths as the only possible department store in Bournemouth at that time would have been Beales - and I can't see that happening (unless someone knows differently) ;-)
Gerald Durrell lived in the Charminster/Queens Park area in the 1950's and caused a lot of problems for the authorities keeping animals in the garden. Sadly, he was not given permission he needed to start a zoo locally so he moved his menagerie to Jersey - and a very good move too.
I know very little about John Aspinall but I believe his zoo was called 'Howlett's' (sp) and was around the Winchester area.