大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer for CSVReading , Jim Grufferty,on behalf of John and Phyllis Chant of Salisbury and has been added to the site with their permission.

MY V1 BOMB INJURIES

I remember the V1 and V2 bombs dropping at the back end of the war they were not very nice. It was OK while you heard the engine running, it was when it stopped that you had to worry. We were guarding something on Hackney Marshes can鈥檛 remember what. We had a bell tent; the one that you roll up the sides, it was pitched on gravel. I had two men with and looked out to see this V1 coming. It seemed to follow the line of the Thames We thought good it is still going, some other poor person is going to get this one. Suddenly the engine stopped, it made a complete right angle turn and made a beeline towards us. We thought this is it, all three of us, brave that we were, dived into the bell tent, as though that would be any protection. All I got was some gravel rash that was the extent of my war wounds thank goodness. As the saying goes I don鈥檛 like to talk about my war wounds! The bomb landed fifty yards away and did little damage.

To show the irony of war another time in Leyton we were in three Nissen Huts full of soldiers all asleep and there was a big bang close by caused by a V1; that hit a row of houses just across the road from us. All we suffered was one of the soldiers had a glass shard stuck in his backside. The other side of the road there was about twenty dead including children. The luck of it all really; twenty yards the right side and you lived.

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