The Chelsea History Festival is back for its eighth year, bringing world-class history writing to the heart of London. It is taking place from Thursday 1 October to Sunday 4 October 2026.
In this talk, historian Guy Walters reveals the true extent to how much Britain knew about Hitler’s terror weapon and the operation by the Polish resistance to enable Britain and her allies to prepare for the day of reckoning.
About the event
Adolf Hitler’s plan to break British morale during the months after the D-Day landings in June 1944 involved the invention and implementation of the world’s first rocket delivered warhead – the V1, or ‘Doodle Bug’ as it was christened by Londoners. Thousands were launched against the British capital, killing 6,184 people and injuring 17,981.
As the launch sites for the V1 were captured by Allied forces, a new, more terrifying rocket now hit London in mid-September, seemingly out of thin air – the V2. Unlike the successes allied pilots and anti-aircraft crews had enjoyed shooting down the slower and more cumbersome V1, the V2 struck London almost undetected. It truly was Hitler’s terror weapon made devastatingly real, causing over 30,000 casualties and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, with the randomness of the strikes unnerving the British public.
But Winston Churchill’s intelligence chiefs of SOE had known of the weapon weeks before it first struck the mainland as the Nazi boffins tested the V2 in Eastern Europe. Away from prying eyes. Or, so they thought. Guy Walters will discuss the operation by the Polish resistance to enable Britain and her allies to prepare for the day of reckoning.
About the speaker
Guy Walters has been a journalist, historian and TV presenter since 1992 and has authored twelve books, appeared on over 40 TV programmes and written many news articles.
WHEN: Saturday 3 Oct 2026, 4.00pm
WHERE: National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Rd, London SW3 4HT
TICKETS: £15.00 (plus £2 booking fee per transaction) to buy here
Check out the full event listings and book online.
