"A few moments later we heard a huge explosion and the sky in the direction of London lit up."
I'm 73 years young. I currently live in Chesterton. I have been married for five years for the second time. My hobbies are writing, politics and Ballroom & Latin American dancing.
I also have a keen interest in Frank Whittle, the inventor of the Jet Engine.We all experience moments in history, usually without realising it. This is one such moment that was the beginning of a terrible new era. Inside Lives was very interesting and instructive.
I had just got off to sleep when my father shook me urgently. Geoff, come and have a look at this. I could see him silhouetted against the faint light from the window. The room was in darkness because of the blackout. The only light came from the stars. Whats the matter Dad, I asked. Look at that, he said. I then saw what he meant. In the gloom a rapidly moving glow crossed the sky, fairly low down. There was a strange pulsating roar like nothing I'd heard before. We stood at the window watching, when the light went out and the roaring stopped. A few moments later we heard a huge explosion and the sky in the direction of London lit up. The old fear returned. The explosion brought back memories of cowering in the shelter, listening to the noise of aircraft and the whoosh and crash of exploding bombs falling nearby, wondering if the next one was going to kill you. Now this was something new and to be feared. My dad reckoned it was some kind of radio controlled plane, with no pilot and the glow coming from what must be the valves. This seemed incredible to me but he was closer than he realised. Over the coming months we became used to this new phenomena. Several times I watched these weapons flying overhead. We didn't know it then but these were the forerunners to the Exocete and Cruise missiles. The official name was the V1. We knew it as the Doodlebug. We had witnessed a moment in history. | 
