ELIZABETH Dalley was a teacher at Chalfont CP School at the time of the Albert Hall fire.

Mrs Dalley, who lives in Tonge Moor, had to take artwork to the hall for a competition some of the children were taking part in.

"The children were very excited as they put the final touches to their paintings and collages," she said. "Their work was going to be taken to the Albert Hall to be exhibited in the children's section of the annual Chrysanthemum Show.

"My task was to take these works of art to the town hall. I took with me the first two children on the register as my helpers, Salim Hajee and Farouk Yusuf.

"After handing in the exhibits we took time to look at the decor, the chandeliers and the organ and the boys walked across the platform.

"People were busy displaying their plants and exhibition blooms. The flower arrangers too were hard at work.

"We left the Albert Hall having been told to come on Saturday evening to collect our show entries and to see if we had won any prizes.

"On the night, a lot of people were standing by the fence of the playing field looking towards the town centre, but we thought nothing of it.

"We drove into town and could then see and smell the activity going on around the town hall. There were fire appliances of every description, hose pipes were everywhere and crowds of people were being controlled by police.

"It was an amazing sight, almost unbelievable, and very emotional as we watched the flames leap out of the windows. The very room we had been in on Thursday was being consumed by fire.

"Quite naively I told a constable nearby that we had exhibits to collect. His reply was: 'You won't be collecting anything from inside there tonight'.

"After watching the activities a little longer we returned home with no exhibits but with a story to tell. We had been there the night the town hall was on fire.

"Whether we won anything it is hard to recall, but the memory of that night remains vividly in the mind."