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Since those two subjects seem to have come up in this thread, I think I can add my own story which brings them together nicely.

I am somewhat familiar with this episode since I lived in one of the houses destroyed by that V2. I was just approaching my ninth birthday (December 44) at the time.

I happened by chance on this ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ site when I did a search, after visiting the Imperial War Museum in South London.
At the centre of the museum there is a full-size model of a V2 standing upright. Alongside there is a small photo and caption showing the destruction after the V2 that hit "St Johns Rd (Sic)". Let me give as much detail as I remember.
The V2 hit at about 5.30 pm on a Sunday in November? 1944. The time and day I am positive about, the month I am not so sure although I do remember my mother saying something about "Hitlers Guy Fawkes Day surprise". The reason I am certain about the time and day was because I was in the "Electric" cinema at the Archway with my elder brother (aged 10) at the instant the rocket hit. In those days the first film showings on a Sunday was after 4.00pm (mustnt clash with church going I suppose!). The film was "Dive Bomber" with Errol Flynn starring; Sundays films were always repeats of earlier releases; this one was first shown in 1942.

I was totally engrossed in the film which was about research into why pilots blacked out pulling out from dives etc. Suddenly there was an almighty thump and dust drifted down from the ceiling. That was close, everybody thought ( the cinema is actually about a half-mile from the impact), and carried on watching the film. A little while later we became aware that the usherette was flashing her torch down the row where we were sitting. "There they are" somebody said and we were beckoned to come out of our seats. I was most reluctant since a picture about aeroplanes was a special treat for me. When we got to the foyer we discovered that one of my elder sisters and her boyfriend had come to fetch us. I was amazed to see that they were covered in dust and dirt from head to toe! We were told that our home had been hit by a bomb/rocket and we were then to be taken to the boyfriends (parents) home somewhere not too far away.

At that time we had no idea whether any of the rest of our family were alive or dead. (I was the second youngest of a family of twelve including my parents! I had a younger sister who was at the time just a baby, and many elder sisters and brothers).
Eventually we discovered that all the family had survived although my parents had been cut about by flying glass. My baby sister was asleep in her pram in the front room of the house, and a tiny splinter of glass landed in the middle of one of her cheeks!. Thankfully it never affected her eye but left her with a small scar . Not so fortunate was one of my playmates and his younger sister and parents. They lived in the house whose rear garden was the point of impact of the rocket. Perhaps I should explain the geographic details.

St Johns Way is a road that runs east-west from the Archway junction. Giesbach Rd and Grovedale Rd are two roads that run parallel
to St Johns Way on its south side and hence have gardens back-to-back with it. They are separated by Boothby Rd which runs north-south. There are no houses in Boothby Rd just the sides of the corner houses of St Johns Way and Giesbach and Grovedale Rds. Grovedale Rd is slightly more southerly than Giesbach rd and hence its gardens on its north side are roughly in line with the centre of Giesbach. We lived in number 38 Giesbach rd, which is the second house from the end on the south side. The family who died (whose name unfortunately I have forgotten) lived in the corner house on the north side of Grovedale rd. I am fairly certain that the rocket impacted in the rear garden of their house. Thus this house took the brunt of the blast as well as the back of the house in St Johns Way and the sides of the end houses on both sides of Giesbach rd. All adjacent house were also heavily damaged of course. Our house being the second from the corner was a little protected, and also the blast must have dissipated to some extent up the middle of Giesbach rd and across the front of our house rather than directly at it.

The photo that is at the War Museum was taken in Boothby rd facing north. Most of the worst damaged houses have been cleared, but the exposed side of our house is visible on the left, as well as the bomb crater on the right.

We obviously never went back to the house which was pulled down along with many of the other houses round about. Eventually new blocks of flats were built over the site of the bomb damage and also the top half of Boothby rd so that it no longer intersects with St Johns Way.

I never got to see the conclusion of the film "Dive Bomber" until about thirty years later when it turned up on television!

Ray H

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