Shortly after midnight, the pilot of a Junkers Ju 88 lost control of his aircraft, which crashed and exploded on numbers 2 and 4 Richmond Avenue, Merton, Surrey. The occupants of the two houses were in their Anderson shelters and survived. Three of the crew of the bomber died and one was captured after baling out.

The custom of illuminating St Lawrence’s church in Ludlow on 20 September each year in memory of Laurie Whitbread has been revived.

In fighting later that day there were losses for both sides. At about 11.15 a No 222 Squadron Spitfire crashed at Higham, Rochester and the body of Pilot Officer Lawrence “Hops” Whitbread was found nearby. He came from Ludlow, Shropshire.

An indication of the esteem in which the RAF was now held came when the Mayor of Ludlow wrote a letter to Whitbread’s parents which included the words: “His was one of the lives Ludlow and England can ill afford to lose for it is to him and his Air Force we have to look for the safety of Ludlow and England.

“I have known him for 20 years and have watched his career with great interest he always did what was expected of him, even to his glorious end.”