New Year's Eve, 1940 - Folkestone, Kent It was mid afternoon in Kent, when machine gun fire from a German bomber hit the London to Margate train. At Folkestone, there was a Grand Spitfire Dance to the music of Bobby's Sweet Rhythm Orchestra. The income from admission would go to the Folkestone Herald Spitfire Fund … just enough, with what had already been accumulated, to pay for one more spitfire. At midnight, with Folkestone in darkness and no bells to ring in the New Year everyone sang "Auld Lang Syne". In the distance you could hear but a few peeps from some ships in the darkened harbour. That afternoon a spitfire had tried to get down in terrible weather conditions and had crashed in flames. For the young pilot his finest hour had passed and like so many of the few, with their enthusiasm and sense of duty, he was not to be around when the final peace was won. It was New Year's Eve, 1940. (As presented in stage productions of Time To Remember Tragedy and Triumph 2005-2007)

Folkestone, Kent World War II Air Raid Statistics (from Frontline Folkestone (by Folkestone, Hythe, and District Herald - 1945) Raid Warnings 2914 Local Alarm Signals 1235 Shell Warnings 102 No. of Air Raids 102 No. of HE Bombs 519 Parachute mines Killed 88 Seriously injured 152 Slightly injured 308 Flying bombs - destroyed on or over Folkestone 26 - destroyed seawards of Folkestone 602 Killed 3 Seriously injured 24 Slightly injured 128 Shelling - Number of Occasions 36 Shells on land 218 Killed 32 Seriously injured 64 Slightly injured 102 Properties badly damaged - 14,141 Casualty totals Killed 123 Seriously injured 240 Slightly injured 538