Cemetery: Brighton City Cemetery (Bear Road)

Country: England

Area: Sussex

Rank: Civilian

Force: Misc.

Official Number:

Unit: Civilian War Dead

Country of Service: British

Details: 30/04/1941 48 War Reserve Constable, Brighton Borough Police. Son of the late Lawrence and Marcella Holford, of Black Rock Farm; husband of Celesta Maria Holford, of 19 Ditchling Road. Died at Dewe Road. Extract from David Rowland's book The Brighton Blitz . "Wednesday April 30 1941. Lawrence Holford, a forty eight year old war reserve police constable, was on patrol in the Lewes Road area. His route covered Dewe Road, where the Allen West factory was engaged in war work. At about 3pm PC Holford called in on the gatekeeper, Stepher Dyer; both were in the gatekeeper's hut when disaster struck. There had been a number of allied aircraft in the sky above Brighton. Suddenly two Beaufighters collided; there was a deafening crash and the planes disintegrated over the factory. The engine of one smashed down through the hut, killing PC Holford and Mr.Dyer instantly. The other engine fell on allotments in Roedale Road. The Beaufighter, then, was still on the secret list, and local reports of the tragedy referred to the downed planes as Spitfires. Such was the impact that pieces of the doomed aircraft were scattered over a large area of the town. One pilot managed to parachute to safety but the other three aircrew of the two planes were killed - one crashing through the roof of a house in Roedale Road."

Photograph by David Milborrow