Fire death evacuees honoured

The fire in 1942 shocked Devon

A memorial to honour the memory of five World War II child evacuees is to be unveiled 60 years after they died in a fire in a Devon.

The youngsters were unable to escape the severe fire in 1942, which gutted the childrens' home they lived in.

The Bishop of Exeter is due to lead a special dedication service on Saturday in Torrington where the children died.

Several of the 54 survivors - who include the former deputy lord mayor of Plymouth - are due at the ceremony to unveil the stone.

There has never been a memorial to the boys who died in the fire

Harry Cramp, former mayor of Torrington

The stone memorial has been made from the original doorstep of the Sydney House home.

An inquest into the childrens' deaths blamed an electrical fault, which started the fire in a room at the top of the house.

Harry Cramp, former mayor of Torrington, who led the arrangements for the memorial's construction, co-wrote a book about the tragedy and traced many of the survivors and their relatives.

He told BBC News Online: "There has never been a memorial to the boys who died in the fire and their relatives felt it was about time they were remembered properly.

The memorial uses the doorstep of the home

"It was a terribly cold and dark night when the fire broke out on 7 February 1942 - in fact it was so cold the water froze inside firefighters' hoses."

Mr Cramp described the vivid memories of Jill Condon, then a 15-year-old student nurse who worked at the home.

"She clearly remembered seeing the flames running along the electrical wires in the house and how the fire spread so quickly," he said.

"But she was still able to rescue two of the children, before escaping the fire.

Unmarked grave

"She will be there on Saturday as well as the two she rescued, so it will be a very emotional reunion."

As well as the memorial that includes a polished granite slab bearing the dead boys' names, a special grave headstone has been created from the Sydney House doorstep.

"For 60 years one of the boys who died, Tom Shute, has been buried in a churchyard in Torrington in an unmarked grave," said Mr Cramp.

"One of the things we were determined to do was to change that with a proper headstone."