In the afternoon of Thursday 24th September 1942, seven German fighter bombers with a fighter escort dropped a large number of high explosive bombs across St Leonards. As they flew across the town they also fired their machine guns indiscriminately. The bombs struck Warrior Square, West Hill Road, Quarry Hill and De Cham Road.
At the Bannow, a National Institute for the Blind, a bomb struck one of the outer wings of the building. Two residents, Dorothy Dean and Edith Waite were killed there and several others injured.
In a bad day for the town, a total of 23 were killed, and 43 other injured, 21 seriously.