Author of "Hastings in Peace and War, 1930-1945" remembers :

"I heard the unmistakable roar of a V1"


Mary Haskell Porter

"My own Doodlebug story dates from 11th July 1944. Around 12.30,  I was in Silverhill on my way home for my mid-day meal,  and wearing a new school dress,  I heard the unmistakable roar of a V1 approaching, and as I turned into Vale Road, where we lived, I looked up to see the bomb very low down, and almost over head.  Close behind it  was a fighter plane.  I saw and heard two bursts of gunfire as the plane fired right into the flaming tail of the bomb.  Its engine cut out immediately and the bomb started to fall. I thought it best to dive behind a near-by wall where I lay waiting for the explosion,  It came within a few seconds, causing the ground to shake beneath me.   I gathered myself up and ran the rest of the way home to find my mother waiting for me.  She took one look and said,  'Whatever have you been doing ?  Look at your dress,   It's filthy !'  Apparently  the dress, acquired with difficulty during clothes rationing, carried more importance than I did !   Fortunately, the bomb exploded , just off Sedlescombe Road North without loss of life."

You can E-mail Mary at: maryporter@battle-abbey.co.uk
And visit Mary's Website at:  www.ferndale-press-hastings.co.uk