They must not be forgotten – that is the simple message from a man who, at seven years old witnessed the aftermath of a bombing raid that killed eight people and destroyed several buildings in Maryport.

John Roonan, now 87, remembers the events of July 21, 1940 vividly. He said: “My Uncle Jack slept in our attic at our house at 111 High Street. That night he was awoken by a bomb and looked out of the window. The plane flew right over the attic window.”

The next day, he said, he watched from the window: “I saw groups of people walking together. They were strangely silent. I suppose now they must have been in shock.”

To a seven-year-old the bombing by the Luftwaffe meant that Mr and Mrs Harrison, who owned a sweet shop, were killed and the sweet shop closed.

“I remember them so well – and I remember climbing up what seemed like huge stone steps to get to their shop.”

The British School, where young John was a pupil, was completely destroyed.

Mr Roonan, who was a bank manager in the town for many years, and worked as a finance officer for British Steel and worked in banks in Cockermouth, said: “There was another school on Eaglesfield Street. I think it was the National School.

“The county council decided that we would share it. We went to school in the morning and the National School pupils in the afternoon and the following term it was changed.

“The only problem was that all our books had been destroyed and the National School did not share theirs. It was later found that the British School children were quite behind in spelling, reading and writing.”

The news was released by the notorious William Joyce, better known as the traitor and propagandist Lord Haw Haw.

He interviewed the pilot who said he had been intending to bomb the Clyde shipyards but could not find his target. Returning home he dropped his load on what he thought were warehouses in the town.

Those who died were mainly from Well Lane and were: David and Margaret Costin of 2 Well Lane, Jessie Harrison, 26 and her mother Sarah Harrison who were visiting from South Shields, Joseph and Sarah Ann Howard, who owned the sweet shop, and neighbours William Milligan and Robert Thomason of 14 and 13 Well Lane.

“They must not be forgotten and neither should those who died at the Royal Naval Armament Depot – the Broughton Dump," he added.

Mr Roonan said these victims of war deserved to be remembered and honoured on the anniversary week.