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In 1944 the Germans had a new weapon which they sent to try us. It was called “a flying bomb” or “doodlebug” as it was commonly known. We would hear a horrible whining sound coming overhead; the sound would suddenly stop and silence would follow; then there would be a loud explosion. The silence was frightening because we never knew if the bomb would explode on us or on some other poor person.

On a hot day, l5th August 1944, I was wearing a yellow sundress with seaside pictures on it, which my Mum had made for me. The Air Raid Warning sounded so my sister and I went into the Anderson shelter in the cellar. My Dad, as usual, liked to watch what was happening in the sky. My Mum had gone to 292 Whitehorse Road. A “doodlebug” came over and when it stopped, my Dad, fortunately, dived into the shelter with us. There was a very loud explosion and I could see the ceiling of the cellar falling down outside the shelter. I really thought that we had been buried alive!
The bomb hadn’t fallen on our house but it had landed in Milton Avenue just behind the houses opposite. A window cleaner, who was on his ladder, the Dad of 3 little children from along the road, was killed. Because he was deaf, he hadn’t been called up for the Army like most men of his age. Although someone had shouted to him when the “doodlebug” was coming, he hadn’t heard, of course, so hadn’t been able to take shelter. It was so sad.

Cecily Tween

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