CEYLON'S FIRST RAID

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 65, 15 June 1942, Page 8

CEYLON'S FIRST RAID

JAPANESE BOMBING OF COLOMBO

EX-TE KUITI RESIDENT'S IMPRESSIONS Colombo's first air raid is described in a letter written on April 8 by Mrs James Brims (formerly Miss Flora Porter, of Te Ivuiti), to her brother, Mr E. Porter. "Our 'blitz' was frightfully excit j Ing though very mild compared with the English raids,'" she writes. "The work done by our air force and ground defences was marvellous, and the Japanese losses are not exaggerated one bit. The damage done was very slight and it was unfortunate that they should have hit a hospital. Raid Commences "1 had been called out to a first aid post at 6.45 a.m. and was looking forward to a very boring time, and feeling quite annoyed at being summoned from my bed at that time on Easter Sunday. "About a dozen of us were assembled when suddenly we heard a rumbling like the roll of thunder. We couldn't believe it was a raid until we heard the rat-tat-tat of 'ak ak" fire and the roar of hosts of planes overhead. No bombs were dropped within a mile of us, but some of the 'ak alts' were vei'y near, and plenty of shrapnel was falling around. "Pull's of smoke dotted the skj r and when we saw a plane coming clown with smoke pouring from the tail, we all prayed that it was a and our pravers were answered. Curiosity got the better of us and. ignoring all orders, we dashed from window to window to ensure that we missed nothing. There was but one casualty as a result of the raid ■ —a servant from a nearby bunga-

? .ow. Sheltering in an open trench, he was hit by a large piece of shrapnel which caused a severe wound in the back of his neck.

Servants Flee "The soundings of the 'all clear' siren and then the 'white' signal dispersed it? to our homes, and we had soon forgotten all about the raicl. Everyone was feeling very elated, however, that the threat had turned into a reality and Colombo had given a fine account of herself,'" she writes. Mrs Brims says that the Cingalese servants did not wait to witness the raid, they took toi their heels and made for the hills, creating a very real problem for the European population, the climate of the island not lending itself to any great exertion on their part. Malayan Evacuees Talking of the arrival of the Ma- 1 la5 r an evacuees on the island, she writes: "Believe me, after the experience of the Malayan people, possessions are not "worth a dime these days. So many of the evacuees arrived just in the clothes in which they stood, having lost everything else. "My heart hied for them," she said. "No money, no jobs, no clothes, and most of the wives with no knowledge of whether their husbands were alive or dead. The thousands and thousands of women and children thus afflicted certainly did S present a pathetic spectacle." 1 No Rationing At the time of Avriting there was no organised rationing in Colombo with the exception of petrol and rice. The various business houses were, however, limiting the sale of goods. AJI the bread she and her husband received Avns a %]b loaf every other day. "We have never been big bread eaters, but two ounces each per day was making things difficult, Mrs Brims said. There was ample food, however, and she was by no stretch of imagination ill fed.