THE civilian dead of wartime Willesden, some who had been left forgotten in unmarked graves, have at last been given their own memorial.
Willesden was a prime target for bombers during the Second World War because of its heavy concentration of industry and transport corridors.
At one point a higher tonnage of explosives was being dropped on Willesden than on the East End of London.
Yet only a very few of the casualties had previously made up the 73 names on a war memorial in Willesden New Cemetery.
Now a new memorial lists all 230 people buried in Willesden New Cemetery who died in Second World War air raids. The ages of those listed have been included which makes the memorial even more poignant and meaningful as families who died together can now be traced.
Silvia Davies lost seven members of her family, who lived in Granville Road, during the bombings - six in one raid.
Up until 18 months ago she did not even know they were buried in Willesden New Cemetery. Two weeks ago she was visiting the cemetery and was delighted to find her relatives names on the memorial.
Meanwhile Sheila Gould brought a black and white photo of her dad to the service. When she was just a child she was pulled from wreckage after a bomb was dropped on her home.
She survived but her father did not.
The bronze resin plaques are mounted on a low plinth and were formally dedicated and blessed on Tuesday by the mayor of Brent, Councillor Jim O'Sullivan, and the vicar of St Mary's Church, The Reverend David Clues, who is also a Brent councillor.
The term civilian includes the many brave volunteers, the heavy rescue teams, air raid wardens, medical staff and others, who rescued people from collapsed buildings and often also became victims from falling masonry.
