On 16 October 1939, the Luftwaffe made a daylight air raid up the Forth to bomb British warships (HMS Edinburgh, HMS Mohawk and HMS Southampton) at Rosyth. This was the first daylight air raid in the United Kingdom.
The German pilots shot down during the raid were buried, following a ceremony at St Philip's Church, in Portobello Cemetery which lies on Milton Road East. They were the first enemy casualties of the Second World War to be buried on British soil.