THE survivors of a World War 2 stray bomb blast in Tottington in the early hours of Christmas morning 1944 gathered for a special memorial service to remember those who lost their lives.

Seven people were killed when a stray V1 rocket - a doodlebug - aimed at Manchester, destroyed a row of cottages in Chapel Street.

Residents joined the vicar of Tottington, Rev Hugh Bearn, last Friday for a 15-minute remembrance service at Whitehead Gardens, which was built on the site as a memorial.

Many members of the congregation attending the service witnessed the aftermath of the bomb, but Mary Conway, who now lives in Bury Old Road, survived the blast which killed both her parents, Nicholas and Mary Ann Conway.

Miss Conway, who was 22 at the time, recalled: "I remember standing in a doorway and hearing several bangs. We didn't know they were bombs, because the air raid siren was silent. I asked my father what to do just as we heard what we thought was the sound of a plane approaching. He told us to wait for the plane to pass and then we would go down to the cellar. But it wasn't a plane and the next thing I remember is being under a pile of rubble. I was only four feet from my parents and have never understood how I came out unhurt when they both died."

Mrs Sheila Bury, of Bury Road, was only four years old, but can still vividly remember the moment the rocket landed. "I was taken into the front room and my dad huddled us all up together, saying, "if we go, we all go together"," she said.

"Luckily, no-one was hurt, but the turkey was up the chimney and the Christmas tree snapped in half - although not one bauble smashed."

Witnessing the aftermath of the attack was Graham Hardman, of Beryl Avenue, who returned to the site to recall the moments after the blast and the impact on the village.

He said: "All the boys fell out with the police on that day because we came looking for pieces of the bomb and were told to go away. I wasn't frightened, but my parents were.

"They knew someone who lived in one of the cottages who had reached out to pull the bedside cord light when they heard the bang, but it was not there because the wall had collapsed! Luckily they did not fall out."

Two wreaths were laid by a commemorative stone which lists the names of those killed. Mr Bearn said the bomb proved that the power of love does exist. He said: "We often remember the soldiers and the airmen who died, but sometimes we overlook the effect on the civilian population. The biggest window of St Anne's Church, the east window, was the only one to remain intact and it is a very definite reminder to those who sought to destroy and sought to kill, that they simply can never win."