Pelham Road - V2 rockets on London and surrounding counties (sitios de interés)
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1944Based on reader comment from Ron Ring: " I remember that day so well. It was sometime in the autumn of 1944, I was 10 years old and lived in Russell Ave, Wood Green, and my nan was looking after me. There was an almighty bang, far bigger than those we were used to, which violently shook the house. I didn't know where the bomb fell but I knew it was close by and in which direction. My mum worked at Cullens Grocers near Jolly Butchers Hill. I knew she would be worried about us, as I was for her. I decided I would run to tell her that we were both alright. My route took me into Gladstone Avenue. I had been used to seeing bombed houses immediately after a bomb attack, but it was usually of one or two houses. I had also seen the devastation of the V1 flying bomb that had landed in Bury Road/ West Beech Road. But this looked like the whole street of over twenty houses, and behind that I could see that Pelham Road had suffered the same fate, exposing the railway embankment and station behind it. The devastation of the V2 was collosal. Dogs running in panic aimlessly, scared out of their wits, People bloodied and dazed standing amongst the debris. Smoke and dust was still rising from the mess. The houses on the opposite side were also severely damaged, perhaps saved from some of the blast by the air-raid shelters that had been built along the centre of the road. Damage to these, nevertheless, was extensive. What surprised me the most was an upright piano that must have been SUCKED OUT through the window of one of these houses and landed into the front garden. I continued my journey to let mum know that we were OK and she was, of course relieved, but I warned her of what she would see on her way home. We kids were, as most of us London wartime kids were at the time, relatively poor and had to make the best of everything to keep ourselves occupied. Most of our dad's were in the army, our mums were at work, so we kept ourselves amused as best we could. Bomb sites became our playgrounds. We would jump out from first floor windows into perhaps a pile of sand that that builders had left. We would steal the toilet cistern copper ballcocks from derelict houses and throw them on to the bonfire that invariably was burning on the site and watch them explode with one half flying high into the air. I can't now understand how we didn't manage to cause ourselves injury. I realise that by present day standards it would be classed as vandalism, but in war time, people had much more to worry about than kids "playing" and keeping happy. There was precious little to be happy about! Much later the bombsites were completely cleared of all debris and danger, they became Speedway Tracks on which we would race our (pedal) bikes and we would have our own teams and names, and invite neighbouring areas teams to compete with us. In some respects, in our play, our childhoods were fun times because we were perhaps too young to completely realise the seriousness of the war, and we had to make our own amusements. But I hope to God that our children and grandchildren etc don't have to go through it EVER."
Second reader comment from Martin Harriss: "I have been told that I was in my pram being pushed along Wood Green High Road when it fell, and was covered in dust and pieces of rubble - presumably small pieces. Iwas born in September 1944 and would be very interested to know the date and time of this event."