My Swaby name could originate from the common German name Schwabe which is a variation on the German tribe Suevi. The Suevi settled not only in Swabia (Schwaben) but northern Spain and the area now in Poland once called Silesia (Schlesien).
The Suevi Tribe existed during the time of Julius Caesar. Therefore the Swaby name is among the oldest in the world (prior to the birth of Christ). In addition to migrations to Spain and Silesia, the Suevi also later appeared in north-western France and probably their descendants were with William the Conqueror when he invaded England and defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
A listing of the Norman feudal lords (1270 A.D.) includes a Roger de Swaby who controlled land around Louth in north-eastern England. There are also records of Swabys in Ireland.
The disaster, on March 3, 1943 at the height of the Second World War, claimed 173 lives as people running for shelter panicked on the stairs of Bethnal Green Tube station, believing a German bomb raid was imminent.
But the roaring sound they heard in the sky was friendly fire from Victoria Park, where the Government was secretly testing a new type of anti-aircraft gun.
Fifty years on the victims, who were crushed to death in the scramble to safety, were honoured at a memorial service in the Church of St. John on Bethnal Green. The service was attended by families and friends of the victims, who stood alongside local dignitaries in quiet contemplation.
Seventy-three-year-old Alfred Morris was 13 at the time of the disaster and lived with his parents in Old Ford Road.
"As the air raid sirens sounded just after eight on the evening, I was instructed by my parents to go to the Tube with my aunt," he told East End Life.
"As we were walking along Old Ford Road, the search light in Bethnal Green Gardens came alight. It was fitted with an early form of radar, and we both started to run through Victoria Park Square.
"When we arrived at the entrance of Bethnal Green Tube station, people were walking down as normal but, when we came to the third stair from the bottom, a sound was heard which everyone thought was a rocket.
"People began to shout: "There are bombs coming!' At this point I got separated from my aunt as people pushed forward and I was trapped against the jagged wall. I feared for my life, but fortunately one of the wardens got hold of my hair and pulled me out.
"They eventually rescued my aunt, who was bruised and bleeding, leaving her coat and shoes behind. It was such a relief to see her safe.
"At this point I got separated from my aunt as people pushed forward and I was trapped against the jagged wall. I feared for my life, but fortunately one of the wardens got hold of my hair and pulled me out.
"They eventually rescued my aunt, who was bruised and bleeding, leaving her coat and shoes behind. It was such a relief to see her safe.
"I know a chap whose whole family went down the stairs that night but he was the only one who survived. A girl was so unrecognisable that her father only realised who she was when he saw her shoes, which he had mended shortly before.
"It is something I'll never forget.When I close my eyes, I can still see it happening now."
