At 1pm on Sunday the 23rd May 1943, German fighter bombers, approximately 10 Focke Wulf 190s, swept across Hastings and St Leonards in a ‘tip and run’ raid. They dropped 25 high explosive bombs and sprayed machine gun fire indiscriminately. The raid was the second worst for the town in terms of casualties, with 25 people killed in total and 85 injured, 30 seriously. Among the buildings suffering damage from the raid were the Albany Hotel, Warrior House Hotel, Swan Hotel, Reeves Antique Shop, Old Town, Warrior Gate Public House, Norman Road and Gensing Road.
At Norman Road, the Warrior Gate Public House was badly damaged by an HE Bomb. Albert Reader, a Firewatcher aged 61, died here. According to this reference, several other people may also have died here.