- Contributed by听
- bawdseyradargroup
- People in story:听
- Steve Digby
- Location of story:听
- Purfleet Garrison, Purfleet, Essex
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A7284936
- Contributed on:听
- 25 November 2005
A Youngsters Memories
Although I was only a small boy, I can remember all the military vehicles lining up ready to go over the water, there seemed to be thousands of them.
In 1945 I was aged 5 and I remember a hearing the noise of a doodlebug coming over, my gran grabbed me, threw me to the ground, put a wheelbarrow over me and laid on top of it. I poked my head out of the side and I saw the doodlebug just miss the top of the chimney pot, it was so fast. Childlike, I thought it looked very pretty with all the colours coming from it. It went past our house, cut out and glided to the right and landed on 235 Purfleet Road, Aveley. People who were standing at the nearby bus stop were killed but the approaching bus was backed up in time by the driver, saving the lives of those on board. A man at number 229 was trapped in the loo and was still on it when he was rescued, he had been unable to move! There was a big crater and houses had to be demolished. In the afternoon the WVS van came and dished out tea to everyone.
One doodlebug landed right on a Canadian Army camp, killing lots of the soldiers, ironically missing the German POW Camp in Tank Lane.
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