A PENSIONER who witnessed the bombs being dropped during Poole's worst air raid of the Second World War has spoken to the Echo on the 77th anniversary of the attack.

Roland Clark was an 11-year-old boy on March 27, 1941 - the day a lone German bomber targeted the Bourne Valley Gas Works.

Three bombs were released from the Dornier Do 25 that lunchtime. One - a delayed action bomb - embedded itself in the concrete floor of the packed canteen. In the subsequent explosion 33 gas workers were killed, making the attack the single largest loss of life in Poole during the whole of World War II.

Last week, speaking from his Parkstone home, which is on the same street where he witnessed events all those years ago, Mr Clark told the Daily Echo: "I saw the bombs come out, I remember it all to this day. I was stood on the back doorstep, it was about 12.20pm, and I said to my mum 'there's a German plane going over'.

"And as I was saying that the plane went over the gasworks with its bomb bays open, you could see it clearly. Then I saw three bombs coming out.

"I heard the impact of the first one, all the debris came up and looked like matchsticks - just like matchsticks, and all this black smoke. I remember thinking it was exciting at the time."

Many families had relatives working at the Bourne Valley site, Mr Clark's grandfather and uncle were among them.

"That particular day my grandfather had come home for lunch, but my Uncle Les stayed. He'd just got into the canteen when he rushed back out because he'd left his lathe running. When he got to the entrance to the machine shop, the bomb dropped. It blew both sliding doors off, apparently one went each side of him. He was very lucky.

"I always remember because my mum rushed across to my gran's house to see what had happened. They sensed it was at the gasworks and they all started rushing down the road. Then I remember my Uncle Les coming along. He was covered in soot with his clothes in ribbons. Even years later he never could remember how he got home."

Today, St Aldhem's Church, Branksome, has bronze plaques commemorating those who died in the raid.

As an adult Mr Clark's interest in the raid never diminished. He's researched and collected as much information as he can about the attack.

"There was one high explosive bomb and two delayed action bombs that day," he explained. "The high explosive fell first, then the delayed action bomb. It was the delayed action one that killed all the people. It came through the roof of the canteen and embedded itself in the concrete floor. The canteen would have been packed with all those workers having lunch.

"The other delayed action bomb fell somewhere in between the viaduct. No-one seems to know if it that last bomb was ever dealt with or not.".