This letter is written with a feeling of sadness and tragedy. The sadness is my sister Alice has just lost her husband after 71 years of devoted marriage.

Alice and Alex were married in Brighton in 1932 and had two sons, Alex and Reggie. Within a year or so they decided to move to Acton Lane, Harlesden, London.

War broke out but Alex was exempt from the services because he was on war work. The bombing of London was in progress when they decided to move to another area of Harlesden.

By coincidence a young mother with her baby was also moving house and during conversation she remarked she was returning to Brighton because of the bombing to live with her family.

On the evening of September 18, 1940, as a young lad, I was on firewatch duty at the top of the fire escape, Finsbury Road School, when the drone of a lone plane approached, followed by the screaming of falling bombs.

After a few seconds there were terrific explosions in the Edward Street area. I went to bed that night wondering where the bombs had fallen.

I worked for Mr Jones' Dairy in Edward Street and when I arrived there at 5.30 next morning I was confronted with the heartbreaking sight of the bombing of White Street and Blaker Street.

The back of the dairy backed onto these two streets and had received slight blast damage. I was told by Mr Jones he had closed the dairy and was returning to Wales with his young family.

Twelve people died in this air raid, among them was a family of five. Tragically two members of that family were Joan Penny, aged 22, and her nine-month-old daughter Rita who had left Harlesden to escape the London bombing.

Alice and Alex stayed in London until Alex's retirement before returning to the coast again.

-Frank Edwards, Brighton