Sixty years ago on Sunday, the final V2 rocket fell on Britain landing in Orpington, killing a 34-year-old woman. GLENN EBREY spoke to people who remember this fateful day ...

JOYCE Green still vividly remembers the day when the last V2 Rocket hit Orpington.

"When the rockets came there would be absolute chaos, people were frightened. They did not know where to run.

"With the rockets, there was hardly any time to get out of the way. You heard the droning of the rocket approaching and then we ran for our lives.

"Once the rocket hit, the damage would be devastating."

It may have been 60 years since the final V2 rocket landed but Mrs Green, of Leith Hill, St Paul's Cray, and thousands of others still remember the day.

"First they hit us with the Doodlebugs, then it was the V2s," said the 77-year-old.

"At least with the Doodlebugs there was some warning. With the rockets we were taking our lives into our own hands."

The final V2 fell on March 27 1945, between Court Road and Kynaston Road, Orpington.

ROCKET SCIENCE
  • The V2 rocket was first used in September 1944
  • It was the second secret weapon launched by the Germans, following the V1 Doodlebug
  • Unlike the Doodlebug, a V2 could not be spotted in advance or shot down in flight
  • More than 5,000 V2s were fired on Britain
  • Only 1,100 V2s reached these shores
  • They killed more than 2,500 people
  • They injured a further 6,000
  • The attack on Court Road was the second in the space of five months
  • An earlier flying bomb attack in January 1945 killed eight people

On this fateful afternoon, 23 people were injured and 34-year-old Ivy Millichamp lost her life.

Mrs Millichamp was the final civillian to be killed by enemy action in the war.

Ken Smith, 78, was in Court Road on the day. He remembers seeing the rocket approaching.

He said: "All of a sudden there was this ear-splitting, earth-shattering explosion.

"A man slumped next to me had been hit in the ankle. He was bleeding, so I ran up to him but he said Carry on mate, someone else might need your help'.

"I walked past a bungalow in Court Road and saw two children crying.

"I saw this woman, lying on the floor, covered in debris. She looked to be dead. I will never forget it."

Mr Smith is not sure whether the woman he saw was Mrs Millichamp.

Barrie Newman, 72, had just settled down for tea with his mother when he heard the bang.

He said: "It was a double bang, like a sonic boom.

"I wanted to see what had happened but my mother restrained me".

The retired Post Office supervisor added: "We were apprehensive there might be another one but we just had to get on with it.

"We spent almost every night in an air-raid shelter. It was cramped and we were surrounded by all sorts of unpleasant wildlife."

Mrs Millichamp was laid to rest in All Saints Church but her grave remained unmarked until Remembrance Sunday in 1989, when a memorial service was held.