The First Doodlebug: Grove Road, East London

Alfie, Maggie's husband was away and I went to stay with my sister and her new baby, Valerie, in a three storey plus "airey" in Grove Road, at the top of Antil Road East London.

One night we were all in bed and the sirens went off and then we heard a plane come over and just stop. Suddenly everything went quiet and I could see the house falling in on me.(This was the first doodlebug to fall on London tuesday June 13th 1944)
All three of us were in a double bed with a huge wooden headboard which fell on us, protecting us a little. Val only months old was thrown to one side, a parson rescued her and she had rubble in her nose and mouth, the vicar gave her a sip of brandy to help bring up most of the debris, we had to wash her eyes all the dust was everywere. She used to cry a lot after that and her mum used to sing, "Any Old Iron" to comfort her.
I was buried for three hours and my dad and the rescue workers came to dig us out, they got through the back window of the airey. All our clothes were blown off, they gave me a pair of bigs mens slippers and an overcoat, but the couple who lived at the top of the house wasn't that lucky they got killed outright, they had their head blown off.
Maggie had a lovley home which was completely flattened. the rescue workers took her bag which had all her money in and gave it back to her empty and made out that the money had disappeared in the blast.
They took us to Hospital in Bethnal Green, when we arrived there was no sheets or pillow cases, just a mattress. Maggies arm was broken and they set it wrong,it was a very busy Hospital that night. One of my ribs was broken, others were all bruised and I has to be strapped up.
As I came out of the hospital with my dad, I passed out they gave us no pain killers,I was strapped up for a couple of months. When they took off the plaster i was covered in a rash, i used to go back and forward to the hospital to move my arms up and down, perhaps to see if my shoulder were still working - I was about 18.
After that I used to have nightmares, I thought the man from the plane would come and get me, the hospital had to give me sleeping tablets as I was too frightend to go to bed anymore, I lost weight i went down to under 6st.
We had no home no clothes, our mum had to take us in. she lived in Antill Road. We tried to go places to get clothes we lost everything,we didn't get any help.
One or two years later Maggie moved to a prefab behind Mile End Station near the Bow Cemetary, Selby road I think it was. I was single so i stayed living with my mum and dad.
I was 21 when i met Jimmy in an air raid shelter. He was just going in the navy, we liked each other straight away. When he went in the navy he started to write to me and we started going out together when he came home on leave.
We got married and lived in a flat in my mums home, my mum lived in the basement and people lived up stairs. It was originally her house but the council took it over becouse she could not prove it was theirs (no deeds) they were lost in another bombing.
I started to smoke after that night, someone gave me a 'fag' to stop me shaking, after that we smoked to stop us feeling hungry!

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