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I am sorry that it has taken me so long after the memorial to post this but I just wanted to leave my thanks to Graham Wanstall and all those who were involved in making the memorial ceremony so poignant and heartfelt.
My name is Ruth Knight and I am the daughter of Phyllis Conlon. Janusia Ashton was my niece, my brother's daughter. They were both killed in the fire that claimed seven lives that night. My mother and Marian Clay were best friends and our families spent many happy times together. The fire took the mothers of both families, depriving us not only of their love & guidance but their protection, our homes and our futures. Three little children, much loved and so precious, never got to grow up. It is no exaggeration to say that the fire devastated our lives and although we have had to carry on without them, it has been a life half lived with the shadows of what might have been, always hanging over us. We lost so much that terrible night, I cannot even begin to describe what it is like living with the sorrow of such huge loss - two families torn apart.
It's taken me a few weeks to be able to write this on here. The memorial brought back all the grief and emotions that have to be kept under wraps in order to function. Here they were again, in full swing, the loss, the raw grief, the longing and the pain. I am only just now getting to a place where I can think about it all without breaking down. But that's not to say that the ceremony was not cathartic in many ways. It was a privilege and an honour to meet the brave firemen and police who risked their own lives to go into that building and bring out our loved ones intact, before they suffered further harm. Even though some did not survive, we were able to say goodbye. For that we will be forever grateful.
I give thanks also for the lives saved, for Christine, Lionel & Nan who were rescued. It was wonderful after all these years to be able to thank all those involved. I was barely 16 at the time with no way of expressing my gratitude back then to to the people who all did their utmost to save everyone. I am so grateful that at long last, I was given the opportunity to do so. I could see and feel the emotion that memories of the Crypt fire still produces in those servicemen and women who were there that night. 42 years later, it is still raw. It was also so poignant and a privilege to meet Glenda Sharpe and condole with her on the loss of her brave husband, John, who died trying to save our loved ones.
My family and I are very grateful to Graham Wanstall and the people of Dover for not forgetting. For us, the memories of our loved ones live in our hearts but knowing there is a place where their names will be inscribed forever, long after we, ourselves, have gone, is a huge comfort. It is wonderful to know that Dover does not forget.
Thank you all so much.