The noise stopped and then you knew you were going to die
Published: Tue, 08/13/13
Last night Venetia and I went for supper with my sister's
parents in law, Micheal and Hazel. My mother came too and we had a
lovely evening. After supper I noticed that there were some
wartime copies of Picture Post which Hazel's family had kept.
Since three members of the party actually remembered the second
world war a conversation developed around those memories. One
experience in particular was Hazel's who was still very young
when the war ended. She said that her aunt had a large house with
about a 5 acre garden. She was there in summer 1944 and there was
an air raid warning. She and several adults took refuge in the
cupboard under the stairs. There they heard the strange pulsing
sound of a ram jet propelling a V1 flying bomb or
'Doodlebug' as they were known. So long as you could hear
the engine you knew the unmanned aircraft was still in progress and
would hopefully land a long way away. But when the sound stopped
you knew it was about to come to earth and explode nearby.
Apparently the sound stopped and Hazel, as a child didn't
understand the significance of the lack of noise but says she
remembers how afraid the adults were. The bomb did land in her
aunt's garden where it ploughed a huge trench in the ground but
for once German engineering failed and it didn't explode. I
guess if it had done my sister would now be married to someone
else. If no one has ever told you about the V1 and you want to
know more then there is a good entry on Wikipedia here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb
Micheal had his own stories about V1s and my father had dodged a
couple himself. I heard the stories from him as a child. My
mother had been spared the experience of surviving V1s since she
was located in Lancashire during the war and Doodlebugs only
reached South East England with London as the main target.
The V1 attacks on London only lasted less than five months and
during that time over 9500 flying bombs were launched across the
channel. But no one who lived through it forgot the experience,
the refrain is always. 'the noise stopped and then you
knew...'
Those experiences are just memories now and in the not too distant
future will be lost as first hand recollections completely.
Some experiences, such as the V1 attacks are best in the past,
although it is always interesting to hear the stories. Other
experiences are well worth seeking out. Fightcamp this coming
weekend, I am not sure what will come out of it but I am determined
to make the most of the opportunity, both to learn new stuff and to
teach. Mercian Gathering two weeks after that and I am still
looking to fill last place on Stav Camp in early September. This
will be an experience to remember http://www.stavcamp.org
regards
Graham
PS My novel is still on free promotion offer for about another 24
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Please note that if you are located in the USA you can only do the
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