My mother (aged 15), her older sister and younger brother were asleep in bed upstairs when the V2 landed in their back garden on the morning of 13 December. They awoke to find themselves lying in the front garden, essentially uninjured apart from scratches. Their mother had been in the kitchen with the dog and just had time to duck under the kitchen table. This saved her life. The house collapsed completely on top of her and she was buried for 6 hours before she was finally dug out. The dog died during this time. She was seriously burnt and spent 8 months in hospital having pioneering skin grafts which saved her leg. Her husband was at work and was fetched home by his brother to watch the efforts to rescue his wife.

Sadly the two women in the house next door were killed when their house collapsed.

My mother and her younger brother are still alive and well and their older sister died at the age of 90. They stood in the cold in their torn night clothes watching people trying to dig their mother out, not knowing if she was dead or alive, until eventually neighbours took them indoors. Needless to say, in those days they received no counselling and just had to get on with their lives while their mother hovered between life and death for some months and every single thing the family had owned had been destroyed. A very tough and resilient generation.

Hello Janice My parents lived at 8 Henry Road my father was on duty as a spotter that night and saw the rocket hit. The only way he new which house was ours was because we had a yellow privet hedge and leaves were sticking out of the rubble. He fund me still asleep in my cot although I had fallen down from the top floor. He broke the rungs of the cot and snatched me out, I didn’t have a scratch. A family of all boys took me in and looked after me. The American servicemen made a human chain and moved brick by brick until they found my mothers foot, the mattress had wrapped round her and a doctor said she had minutes to live as she was suffocating. They took a chance and pulled and out she came. I was told there was a front page newspaper article saying it was a miracle that I had survived without a scratch. My father also helped people in Hoffmans and saw some terrible sights in there. My mother said that she told the young woman next door to bang on the wall if she was frightened. Also that she was killed by a rafter that pinned her to her bed and that her baby daughter had survived. My mums name was Edith and my dad was know as Win

During WW2 several boys would gather on the roof a building opposite the War memorial on Clacton sea front. Many events of interest were witnessed but on the 18th of December the usual four or five lads would gather awaiting anything of interest when suddenly there was a massive explosion to our right. I remember that I fell to the floor expecting explosions, as I looked to see what had happened I saw a large column of smoke and debris rising followed at once by the most deafening whoosh about 6 or 7 seconds after the explosion. This happened appx a quarter of a Mile away on the cliff face s/w of the pier. There was damage to 346 properties 65 seriously damaged and 12 casualties.

The rocket hit my fathers aunts house in Jevington Way in December 1944. The impact killed his aunt Winn and injured his cousin John Sullivan, they were in bed together when it struck blowing the pair of them across the road killing Winn instantly and badly injuring John. He went to hospital with many cuts, burns etc and a badly broken leg, when he was discharged he went to live with my dad in Exford road. My dad lost touch with cousin John some years ago but remembers the incident well even now in his mid 80’s. Thanks Tony