大象传媒

It was the summer of 1944. I was 11 years old and excited about starting my new school in September. The day was clear and bright and I was in the garden. My sister was shelling peas ready for dinner, when she suddenly let out a terrific scream. I looked up and there was a doodlebug, silently flying just above the rooftops, only about half a dozen houses away! As I watched, it wobbled towards us, then turned the other way. I raced for the shelter, as did most other people in our streets. I remember getting to the entrance, then I was in a heap at the far end of the shelter.

The V1 had landed at the bottom of the gardens on the other side of the road and the explosion had blown me right down the shelter. Luckily, the rest of my family had made it in time, although a brother, in bed at the time recovering from an illness, had only got to the bottom of the stairs when the thing exploded. The front door came in and took him with it right through the house to the back door!

My sister's scream had saved a good number of lives that morning, there were no fatalities, only a few bruises. Our house was badly damaged, as were many others and I had to go with my family to friends in Leeds for a year. My eagerly awaited start at the new school was put on hold for a year. To see a doodlebug that close up was an experience I would never want to repeat!

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