- Contributed by听
- cornwallcsv
- People in story:听
- Henry Potbury
- Location of story:听
- Southall Middlesex
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A4178685
- Contributed on:听
- 11 June 2005
This story was submitted to the People's War website by Sue Sutton on behalf of Geof Cope, the author and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.
On our way to school about 8.45am, Henry and I were nearly there when the raid warning sounded. The rules were: over halfway to school, continue and go into the school shelters. Less than half way, return home - we went home!
As was our wont, we ignored the warning and continued to Henry's father's allotment. We were almost there, there was low cloud and suddenly we hard the "wom-wom" of a doodle bug, then saw it coming straight at us out of the cloud. We watched it approach, and suddenly, almost overhead, the engine cut.
Horrified, I yelled at Henry and we ran straight toward it on the theory that as it dived it would pass over us. Hearts in our mouths we tore along the muddy path and with a feeling of immense relief that we heard the engine start again. We stopped and looked back to see it fly for about another half mile before finally diving to explode in another field.
It was 1944 and we were both 13 years old.
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