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In the early hours of September 13th, 1940, a German bomber was shot down over Newport, Monmouthshire in Wales. The pilot tried to crash land in a park opposite a house where my aunt and uncle lived with their two children — my cousins Malcolm (b. May 8th, 1923) and Myrtle (b. May 16th, 1926).

In spite of the pilot’s efforts to avoid crashing into a residential area, the plane landed on their house, igniting a fire. My aunt and uncle and Malcolm survived the fire. But Malcolm, realizing his sister had not escaped, ran back into the house to save her. Malcolm and Myrtle both perished.

A few days later, the pilot, recovering in hospital, discovered that two children had died as a result of his crash landing. He was grief stricken by the news. On learning of this, my aunt and uncle visited him at his hospital bed to comfort him.

My uncle was devastated by the loss of his children. He died, heart-broken, a few years later. My aunt devoted the remainder of her life to peaceful causes. She was an accomplished cellist and played with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Submitted by David Rubin Toronto Canada

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