POIGNANT SCENES IN WAKE OF RAIDERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 215, 10 September 1940, Page 7

POIGNANT SCENES IN WAKE OF RAIDERS.

BLACKEMD RUM. Terrible Experiences In Sunday's Attacks. United Press Association. —Copyright. (Reed. 1 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 9. Further details of Sunday night's raids show that two streets in Central London suffered severe damage by a bomb which fell near a newspaper office situated in this area. A heavy bomb directly hit a block of tenement buildings and demolished 40 yards in the centre of the block. It is feared that residents are still buried under the debris. Incendiary and high explosive bombs, falling in quick succession in clusters in another central London street, did severe damage to scores of shops, business premises, public houses and cafes. Flames were coming from the wreckage hours after the raid. A road junction was damaged when heavy bombs burst, smashing property and damaging gas mains. Fate of Young Nurses. Five young women are missing, following the bombing of a hospital in central London. Other people were injured. The secretary stated that two of the top storeys, mainly used as nurses' quarters, were ruined. The windows of one ward were blown in. The conduct of patients and nurses was splendid. The amage in one central London area extended over a quarter of a mile radius, in which not a single property escaped damage. One institution had all the windows blown in, but there was no panic among the 1400 inmates, aged from 60 to 100. Fifteen people were injured. The worst effect was on one underground shelter of an office building in central London, where many people were buried. Those in the shelter, of which several were killed, are believed to have been tnp-e through one corner falling in as the result of the terrific force of an explosion which shattered the walls of neighbouring buildings.

Destruction of Buildings. Other buildings became hollow shells. Huge baulks of timber and other supports lay mingled wijh massive pieces of plaster and bricks in a tangled mass of debris. The outside of a cellar which was being used as a shelter caved in, burying th<s occupants, who were subsequently extricated. South-west London received a terrible pasting, especially between 2 a.m. and 4.30 a.m. The fires started earlier in the night brought back the raiders, and bombs fell with scarcely any intermission. One south-western shelter received a direct hit. It is believed many of the occupants were killed. An explosion fractured a gas main on a main road, starting a fire, which was visible for a great distance. . There was a scene of devastation at the corner of two London roads, where a huge block of flats was badly damaged. Fire broke ouj, and ambulances for several hours we're engaged taking casualties to hospital. A cinema adjoining was practically wrecked. The raiders, after starting fires with incendiary bombs in an east London area, tried to prevent fire-fighting by dropping screaming bombs. The firemen carried on coolly. Large Areas Cordoned Off. Large areas of the East End were cordoned ofF in the morning owing to the danger of the collapse of buildings. Gas was escaping from the mains in some areas. Several loud explosions in another area brought the tired wardens ! back to duty, but they discovered that the explosions were due to delayedaction bombs. Utility undertakings in the dock areas were seriously damaged. Gas was cut off over a large district. Two screaming bombs which fell in the north London area struck residences, l'.:t'.ng several roofs bodily into the air. Passengers in a south London train watched a 'plane dropping bombs, after which the 'plane collided with a balloon. Both fell in flames. Train services are busily attempting to return to normality, but services from the dock stations are suspended. FIGHT FOR LIBERTY. PEOPLE MUST BE READY TO PAT (Reed. 9.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, this day. Declaring that the Australian Government would support Britain to the bitter end, the Attorney-General, Mr. W. M Hughes, at Brisbane last night, warned °that the Government would be foreed to do many distasteful things because the people must be prepared to pay the price in the fight for liberty.