ON this very day 80 years ago Barrovians had spent the night hiding in shelters for almost eight terrifying hours after an aerial attack. From 9.57pm on Tuesday April 15 in 1941 to 5.35am the following day, bombs fell on the town centre, killing 20 people. Bombing during mid-April 1941 caused significant damage to a central portion of Abbey Road, completely destroying the Waverley Hotel as well as Christ Church and Abbey Road Baptist Church. Among the dead was Baptist Minister Gilbert Mason, bravely trying to protect his Abbey Road church as a fire watcher. He would have been armed with a tin hat, stirrup pump and a bucket of sand to deal with incendiary bombs.