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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Doodle Bug

by Tim Taylor

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Contributed by 
Tim Taylor
People in story: 
Joan Taylor
Location of story: 
Cranleigh Surrey
Background to story: 
Royal Air Force
Article ID: 
A6100633
Contributed on: 
11 October 2005

This is a short story, that happened in 1944, told to me by my late mother, Joan, who was a cook in the WAAF (Womens Auxillary Air Force) during WW2. She used to have to prepare all the meals for the flight crews stationed on the airbase where she worked. On one occasion she was preparing a large vat of porridge oats to serve breakfast for up to 600 airmen. A V1 rocket or a "doodle bug" as she told me they were nick-named was heard approaching in the distance. These were a new deadly weapon sent over by the German army to hit strategic targets such as factories or airbases. Panic ensued when its engine was heard to cut out as that was the signal that the rocket was about to come down tho earth. Fortunately it landed in the field next to the airbase causing no casualties and minimal damage. Unfortunately the minimal damage it did cause was to the plaster ceiling of the cookhouse directly above the vat of porridge my mother had been preparing, causing a large portion of it to fall in to the oat mixture. With all the aircrew now sitting at their tables waiting to be fed, my mother was in a panic as to what to do. There would be no time to prepare any more.
"Stir the bugger in, they'll never know the difference!" came the orders from the staff sergant. So that is what she did! She told me that it went down very well that morning - in fact there were more than the usual requests for seconds!

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