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[This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Cambridgeshire on behalf of Alf & Sonia Stripling and has been added to the site with their permission. Alf & Sonia Stripling fully understands the site's terms and conditions.]

Alf Stripling

Had a serious bout of measles in 1944 — ended up in Hackney hospital with complications. A bomb landed within a hundred metres — no damage to hospital, but it woke everyone up.

1945 — Alf heard a doodlebug coming (V1) saw the rocket go over home, over the school next door, London fields, then the engine stopped over London Fields and it caused no structural damage, but the next day he saw the huge hole that it left.

Close to the docks, German bombers would unload bombs on residential areas if they missed the docks. So they had barrage balloons to defend — around 12 in London Fields. Anti aircraft guns in the parks as well.Uncle worked in the Post Office and was in the fire brigade.

Father a Roman Catholic, Mother a Church of England. Father, on the front would go to mass to delay going to the front. Within a couple days of telling the Roman Catholic Priest on the front that he was Catholic the Catholic church visited his Mother and asked why the children weren’t going to the Roman Catholic church.

Sonia Stripling

In the Morrison Shelter (indoors) (Anderson shelter outside) , don’t remember Mother being there. Doodlebug exploded at the end of the road. Took off the front fof the whole row of terraces. Tarpaulin over front of house. Remembers at 4 the Victory Street Party with the tarpaulin still on the front of the houses.

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