Sean Murphy – V.1 & V2 stories given me by relatives.

I was previledged to have been told two stories involving the ‘revenge weapons’ launched by the Nazi’s in 1944. The first involves my Uncle John who was doing war work in 1944 and had traveled from Ireland and was staying in Holland Park in digs.

He went to the cinema one evening and was a quarter way through the film when the police stopped the show instructed everyone to leave the auditorium.He told me it was dark and a plesant evening so decided to walk home. He said he was walking down Ladbrook grove when there was an almighty purple flash and a bang that left him deaf for two days. He was thrown into the road and was shaken up. A warden told him it might have been a gas explosion. When he got nearer to the point of explosion, he saw a round object smouldering and lots of multi coloured wires. he said to some passers by “that was a bomb, but there was no plane.(?)” One of the men said ” I think it was a rocket they keep telling us dosen’t exist”.My uncle found the nearest Off Licence and bought a couple of beers.

The second story I have is of my uncle on my mum’s side who lived through the Blitz and was evacuated to (I believe) Norfolk.

One day there was an air raid warning and so they decided to send the children straight home. As my uncle got closer to home he heard the unmistakable sound of a “Doodle bug”. He decided to “run like hell”. He was on a high street when the engine of the V.1 cut out. A butcher on the high street grabbed him and pulled him inside, only to see the detonation of the flying bomb at the end of the aforementioned street.I know these stories are real because I was told them first hand when I was young.

Hope these (vague) stories help your site as I think it is really important to publish stories from the second world war. Keep up the great work!
Sean.