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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Doodle Bug

by snedshill

Contributed by 
snedshill
People in story: 
Denis Noble, Grandma Rusby, parents Edgar & Florence Noble
Location of story: 
Mill Hill, London NW7
Background to story: 
Civilian
Article ID: 
A3237202
Contributed on: 
07 November 2004

In 1944 we lived in a cul de sac near to Mill Hill station. Because of the raids we slept on mattresses on the floor, grandma and I in dining room, my parents in father's study.
During the night a doodle bug fell into a stream running through a neighbours garden. The blast travelled underground and sucked the fireplaces into the cellar. When I came to my grandmother, who slept with he mouth open, had a mouth full of glass from a picture over her head. My short trousers were hanging from a broken window frame and the rest of my clothes had joined the fireplace in the cellar.
We eventually called to my parents, there was no reply. Fearing the worst we both made our way, in the dark, to father's study. All the books had tipped out of their shelves & landed on my parents, knocking them out. They soon came around.
Of all the houses in the road ours was the only one considered safe and the kitchen was turned into a casualty treatment room.
The death rate was very low - one old lady died of a heart attack and 1 cat completely disappeared at the house where the bomb landed.

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