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In 1941 I was 10 years old and my mother worked at the Dagenham Ford Plant making aircraft parts. I had arranged to meet her from work to go to the Princess Cinema on the Ripple Road to see a James Cagney film. It was a miserable drizzly afternoon with very low clouds.

The air raids had died down and we felt quite secure especially as it was daylight. We were walking parallel with Ford's perimeter wall towards the cinema when we were startled to hear the warning siren sound. Before we copuld take cover out of the clouds flying very low a single bomber appeared. My mother tried to reassure me that it was 'one of ours'. I wasn't convinced especially when we saw the bomb doors open and a string of bombs falling towards the ground.

I remember putting my hands over my ears and running down the road. As I did so a queue of people waiting for a bus threw themselves on the ground. I worried about how muddy they would get on the wet pavement!

There were a series of sharp cracks and as far as I know no-one was hurt. Apparently most of the bombs fell in some water.

Needless to say we never did see the appropriately named film 'Captains of the Clouds'

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