Life was grim in Bomb Alley.

After the Battle of Britain, Hitler set his sights on destroying every city, port and industrial area of Britain.

From September 1940 to May 1941, he sent wave upon wave of bombers to break the backbone of the country and the backbone of its people.

But no matter what the Germans threw at the British people, their resolve could not be broken.

Kent bore the brunt of tip and run raids - when German pilots were sent on target practice from France to cross the Channel, drop their bombs and return back to base.

Men, women and children across the county learned to live with the terror and a mood of determination grew. Despite the constant dangers they went to school, toiled in the fields or worked for the war effort.

The retreat from Dunkirk created such national pride it provided strength to keep on fighting. The Battle of Britain further demonstrated the RAF’s superiority - despite being outnumbered it defeated the Luftwaffe in the skies over Kent.

Some 43,500 people died in the Blitz. Night after night after night, cities were left in ruins. London was bombed for 76 consecutive nights and a red glow in the sky could be seen across Kent and the South East.

Next week's KM Group souvenir supplement pays tribute those men, women and children of Kent whose morale could not be broken.

We feature many stories that have been told for the first time. They are stories of survival, humour and good fortune as well as devotion to duty.

There are also unique archive photographs to salute a generation who insist ‘they just got on with it’.