Town remembers 45 victims of WW2 bombing

The church of St Mary was left in rubble after the bombing

Forty-five people died around St Marychurch and Hele during the bombing raid

A memorial service has been held to mark the 80th anniversary of Torquay's deadliest day of World War Two.

On 30 May 1943 during the bombing raid 45 people died in the St Marychurch and Hele areas.

Of the victims, 21 were children at a Sunday school.

John Phillips, who was five at the time, still lives in Marychurch, and said he narrowly avoided death.

Twenty-one of the victims were children at a Sunday school

John Phillips: "We would have probably lost our lives"

"My sister Barbara and myself were on our way to Sunday school and we were half way up the road when the siren went off," said Mr Phillips.

"We carried on walking

"My brother was whistling at us begging us to go back home so we were very very lucky that we went back home or else we would have probably lost our lives.

"It's absolutely incredible."

Mary Ewen lost her older sister in the bombing

Mary Ewen, 84, who was four when she lost her older sister Pauline, remembered hiding under a stage at the Sunday school as the blast happened.

Ms Ewen said her sister was later found and her body returned to the family.

"Eventually when they brought the coffin home it was sealed down," she said.

"Right up to the day my mum died, she had dementia, she was still saying 'they wouldn't let me see her'.

"It was very upsetting for everyone, but me being young I was almost protected from it."

She added: "When you think of what's going on in Ukraine it knocks it home again.

"And perhaps it's a reminder that we should be a little nicer to each other.

"It will never be forgotten, it's just something that's always there.

"It was an awful tragedy but it changed people, it made people nicer."

People remember the victims at a memorial

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