Guildford Doodlebug

It was near the end of the war… a cloudy morning in early Spring 1945….I was 11 and living in Avonmore Avenue.. near the top of Guildford high Street. The VI rocket…the Doodlebug—was no stranger in this part of Surrey.

That morning I was pedalling back along the London Road after collecting the morning papers for my father. There had been no air raid warning. Even so, there was no traffic about, no passers by. I was alone when — overhead — there came the ominous and distinctive chug-chug of a flying bomb…I pedalled faster: it felt as thought the Doodlebug was right on my tail — hunting me down — me personally!

I cycled even harder towards home—thinking of it as a safe haven. As I hopped off the cycle and ran towards the front door the “chug-chug” stopped. That meant the —the engine had cut out…the Doodlebug was dropping to earth…. fast. Where was it going to land?

I rattled the front door knocker; my sister opened the door and — as she shut it — the house shook and there was a “crump”.

On looking out, smoke was rising about six hundred yards away—just about the spot where my school—Lanesbrough—stood between Maori and Hillier Roads. It was almost the end of the school holidays…would we be going back at the start of term?

I cut through the fields—there’s a housing estate there now—to take a look. The school still stood —but minus its windows. The bomb had landed a few yards away in Hillier Road, demolishing a house and killing the only occupant.

Had he lived till summer he would have celebrated VE-Day.

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