‘They belonged somewhere’: the forgotten victims of one of London’s deadliest fires

It is thought more than 150 people were inside 18 Denmark Place when John Thompson poured petrol through the letterbox and lit a match. Photograph: London Fire Brigade

More than 40 years after an arsonist killed 37 people in a largely forgotten attack on a nightclub in central London, family members of the victims will gather on Thursday for the unveiling of a memorial plaque.

Until the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, the attack on Denmark Place on the edge of Soho in 1980 remained the deadliest postwar fire in London. Yet the incident slipped into history with little trace, leaving many family members searching for information and recognition.