- Contributed by听
- A7431347
- People in story:听
- Mrs Dorothy Sobenko (nee Smith)
- Location of story:听
- Blackheath, London
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A4400759
- Contributed on:听
- 08 July 2005
This story was submitted to the People's War site by Janet Kowalska and has been added to the website on behalf of Mrs Dorothy Sobenko with her permission. She fully understands the site's terms and conditions.
It was the summer of 1940 and I was 15 years old. I was visiting friends who lived near Blackheath.
A group of 8 or 10 of us, all about the same age, were up on Blackheath and a dog fight was taking place right above us. The two planes wheeled and banked, chasing each other and firing their guns. We'd seen this kind of thing in films so we knew what was going on. We couldn't tell which was the British plane and which was the German, probably because they were moving so fast, but we were in no doubt about who was going to win. Suddenly one plane burst into flames, spiralled down and crashed into the ground. We all cheered because we knew that the good guy always wins. It was just like watching a film and so exciting!
The next day we found out that it was the British plane which had been shot down. We were too young and stupid to understand that life isn't always like a film. I still feel guilty about cheering to this day.
漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.
Recommended story
Story with photo