Sad Experience in the Doodlebug Days

It was way back in the Doodlebug days.
I was an apprentice at Vickers Armstrongs Crayford Kent. Living in bomb alley was enough to experience some terrible happenings but this is my worse time.
It was a Saturday morning which was part of the working week, it was drizzling with fine rain, I was looking forward to the evening when my tutor was playing with his band at the local drill hall. Eric Sugden was his name. The Doodlebug menace was getting serious so the WVS half way up the Crayford hill was open and outside was a line of mothers with their children to get them evacuated from the danger.
Our overhead warning went and as it was drizzling I went into the shelter with old Perkin's the storekeeper to not get wet. The shelter had black cinders for the floor, at the deep end of the shelter was an escape hatch that suddenly was lifted and a man dived in. I said "What's up mate" and his reply was, "You will soon find out!".....One almighty bang and all the black cinders filled the shelter. Coughing we tried to get out but the debris was falling and we remained at the doorway.
"Volunteers needed now" was the urgent cry..the WVS centre is hit! We all ran that way but I being a young man was told to return and cover the machines as the roof had gone.
Half an hour later some men returned and it was the first time I had ever seen a man cry...this was never done.
All the mothers and children were dead.
I still went to the dance at the drill hall to support Eric's dance that he had sunk a lot of money into hoping to get good returns but the band and me and my sister were the only ones there...
This story can be proved of course, it was a sad time in that area for a long long time.
Allan J. Grant

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