Ken Pusey, 98, credits a coin toss and a pint of Guinness for saving his life during a V2 rocket attack on Antwerp's Cinema Rex 80 years ago.
A second World War soldier has recalled how the toss of a coin and the allure of a pint of Guinness saved his life from a Nazi rocket attack exactly 80 years ago. Ken Pusey, now 98, considered going to the cinema on December 16, 1944 in Belgium, where he was serving. But he made a late decision to go instead to a new club after hearing it was serving draught Guinness. While Ken supped a pint of the black stuff, the nearby Cinema Rex in Antwerp was hit by a Nazi V2 rocket.
More than 1,000 people were inside and the blast killed 567, including 296 Allied service personnel. Ken, 18 at the time and serving with the Royal Engineers, said: “A lot of us were given a day pass and we were taken by lorry to the town centre. “It was suggested we go to the cinema, or The 21 Club, which was selling draught Guinness by the pint, which was unheard of, for thruppence. “We didn’t know what to do so we tossed a coin. It came down tails and we went to the club. After an hour or so we heard an enormous explosion. “We didn’t find out until a lot later that a rocket fired from Holland hit the cinema. It killed all those people and many more were seriously injured. We thanked our blessings, because but for the toss of a coin and a pint of Guinness, we’d have been dead.” Antwerp had recently been liberated by the British. The day of the rocket attack marked the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, where Germany launched a huge attack on the Allies. After the war, Ken returned to live in High Wycombe, Bucks. He got a job at an engineering factory and later worked for companies such as Hoover. He still lives in the town, at the Royal Star & Garter charity care home where he moved in 2022 after his wife’s death
WORLDWARII GUINNESS ANTWERP V2ROCKET LUCK
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