Monday

In England, Verne and several of his combat crew mates received passes to go to London . . .

01-22-45

Passes were okay this morning so off to London town the crew went. Powers¹, Bud² and I went together. Had a swell time last night³ making the rounds of pubs. Also took in a show. Am beginning to know my way around London a little better. Have wonderful rooms at Barkston Gardens Hotel in Earls Court.⁴ Looked for salt and pepper shakers for M.A. but no luck yet.

While in London, a V-2 rocket explodes in Southwark yet Verne does not mention it. At 5:14 p.m. on 22 January, a V-2 exploded between 170-293 Borough High Street in Southwark. At least 35 people were killed and shops and offices in the area were destroyed.⁵ The V-2 was launched by from Site 74 ((Duindigt – Rennbahn)) by Battery 444, a mobile launch battery operating out of Wassenaar, a suburb of The Hague.⁶

Notes & Commentary

¹ Robert F. Powers of Imlay, Michigan, Crew 87’s ball turret gunner.

² Boyce L. Priuitt of Enid, Oklahoma, Crew 87’s bombardier.

³ The reference to “last night” suggests this entry for January 22 was actually written on January 23.

⁴ The Barkston Gardens Hotel located at 34/44 Barkston Gardens in Kensington is still in operation. It is located a couple of blocks from the Earls Court Underground Station on the Piccadilly line.

⁵ “V1 & V2 logs SE1 Borough Southwark and Bermondsey”, Flying Bombs and Rockets. (http://www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/V1_summary_se1.html : accessed 21 January 1945).

⁶ “Timeline for V-2 attacks, 1944-45”, V2ROCKET.COM. (http://www.v2rocket.com/start/deployment/timeline.html : accessed 30 December 2014).