CIVIL TARGETS

Evening Star, Issue 23684, 18 September 1940, Page 7

CIVIL TARGETS

NAZI RAIDS ON LONDON WEST END SUFFERS MOST FAMOUS THOROUGHFARES BOMBED Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, September 17. (Received September 18. at 11 a.m.) It is officially stated that small groups of enemy aircraft last night again concentrated on London, many parts of which were bombed. A number of fires started, but were speedily extinguished. Houses and commercial buildings were damaged, and also a hospital, where there were no casualties. Bombs were dropped in rural areas in the Home Counties, but there was no damage. Towns in the Midlands, Wales, and north-east and north-west England were attacked. There was some damage and a number of casualties. An enemy bomber was destroyed after fouling a balloon cable. Lour enemy bombers were destroyed on the previous night by anti-aircraft lire, making sis enemy losses for the night. The West End, which contains London’s best-known shopping streets, hotels, and large private houses, suffered most in last night’s raid on London. Among the streets which were damaged were Bond street. Oxford street. Mayfair, Bruton’s street. L > ark Lane. Saville Row, Regent street, and Piccadilly. The Royal Arcade, Burlington Arcade, Burlington House (headquarters of the Royal Academy). Burlington Gardens, and two famous squares, Berkeley Square and Sloane Square, also suffered damage. Thus the Nazis’ self-termed “ reprisal raids ” continue to strike at purely civil targets. London bad six air raid alarms between 8.03 a.m. and 8.10 p.m. A few minutes before the third warning railway passengers standing outside a station in the London area heard a plane above the clouds. An anti-aircraft gun fired one round, the engine stopped, and a terrific crash and explosion followed. Soon after the fourth warning gunfire was heard and an enemy machine was engaged over London. The pilot was seen to " bale ” out. A solitary raider bombed a south-east town this morning, hitting the principal shopping centre. Several private houses received considerable damage. There were a number of casualties. It is authoritatively stated that the places damaged last night, in addition to well-known West End streets, include the Royal Arcade, Burlington Arcade, St. Dunstan’s headquarters, and Radnor House, in Twickenham. The Peruvian Legation in Cadogan Square was recently hit by eight incendiary bombs, and was seriously damaged by fire. It became unusable, and it was necessary to demolish the upper part of the building. WEST END SUFFERS SOME SHOPS REMAIN OPEN WOMEN WAR WORKERS KILLED LONDON, 17. (Received September 18, at 11.40 a.m.) West End sufferers in last night’s raids included well-known shops, some of which closed. Others are carrying on behind empty and glassless windows. A bomb fell on a big house and killed four men working on the ground floor. They were buried under the ruins. Five rescue workers speeding to their aid were injured when a bomb landed in a nearby street. it is feared that some people taking shelter were buried when a high-explo-sive bomb completely wrecked two shops. Mrs Amy Noel, Commandant of the Women’s Legion, Miss Aileen Cooper, senior company commander, and Miss Phyllis Phillips, senior company leader, were killed by a bomb on Sunday night when operating a mobile canteen in the London area. Lord Caldecote stated in the House of Lords that for the week ended September 10 rescue services in five London boroughs were called out on IG9 occasions and saved 216 lives. ANOTHER ’HITLER NIGHT" LONDONERS CHEERFUL AND UNDAUNTED (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 17. (Received September 18, at 1.27 p.m.) Soon after 8 p.m. Londoners had their fifth air raid warning of the day, and heavy anti-aircraft gunfire was soon heard in Central London as well as in suburban districts. Citizens, heartened by Mr Churchill’s tribute to their courage, again settled down to a “ Hitler night ” with the adaptability for which the Cockney spirit is renowned. Every variety of communal amusement is now resorted to by neighbours sheltering together while “ they are overhead,” and it is difficult for the onlookers to realise, in the words of a neutral observer, that the Germans fondly imagine that they are terrorising these patient, cheerful, and undaunted people. An Air Ministry and Home Security communique issued at 11 p.m. states: “ Enemy activity was on a small scale on Tuesday until early afternoon. Although bombs were dropped on widely scattered districts in south and southeast England, there was little damage, but a small number of people were

DWELLERS IN DOCKLAND SUFFERINGS DURING RAIDS COURAGE PRAISED BY MINISTER OF SHIPPING (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 17. (Received September 18, at 12.50 p.m.) Mr Ronald Cross (Minister of Shipping), broadcasting, described his visit to the London docks, and paid a tribute to the dwellers in dockland. “ A few days ago 1 made a tour of the Port of London, which has been a main target of the German raiders,” he said. “ You will have read about the terrible onslaughts. Hundreds of German aeroplanes have rained high explosive bombs and incendiary bombs on the docks. A good deal of damage has been done and great fires have lit up our skies at night. We have wondered whether anything could possibly survive them. What was the true extent of the damage? The Germans are no doubt wondefing too, and you must not expect me to satisfy their curiosity. “ Our fire-fighting men have been quite wonderful. I have seen them tired out and still working on their hoses. I have seen them going home in their tenders utterly worn, filthy dirty, sleepily seeming to prop each other up but still full of grim cheerfulness and ready to crack a joke with the passengers of any car that might overtake them, and more than ready to start off again the moment they arc needed. After days and nights of horror and bombs and flames, thanks to the wonderful air raid shelter organisation of the Port of London Authority, there was only one man killed by enemy action within the limits of the docks, and he was in a tin cabin which by sheer bad luck got a direct hit. “ But outside the docks the story is very different, and there is a strange sight in miles of firemen’s hoses running the length of street after street. “ London’s docks are surrounded by a densely crowded area. There • are many miles of small streets where hundreds of thousands of London’s poorest people live in tiny houses, mostly weakly built. To their everlasting shame the Huns poured a deluge of destruction on these unlucky folk. I saw their wicked havoc. I saw the mangled wreckages of these little homes, hundreds upon hundreds of them. I saw sights to bring tears to your eyes. I came hack home wondering how man could be so foul, and also how man could be so brave, but knowing well that here in London, here in England, here in our Empire, is the spirit that must and shall conquer the powers of evil.” TUESDAY’S BAG TWELVE ENEMY PLANES DESTROYED (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 17. (Received September 18, at 1.50 p.m.) An Air Ministry communique issued on Wednesday, at 1.40 a.m., says; “ Up to midnight five enemy bombers were shot down in attacks made on southeast England during darkness. Four were destroyed by anti-aircraft guns and one by R.A.F. fighter squadrons. This makes a total of 12 enemy aircraft destroyed during Tuesday. Three of our fighters were lost or missing as the result of Tuesday’s engagements, but the pilots of two are safe.” The Air Ministry’s nows service states that, after having their bomber squadrons cut to rags and tatters during Sunday’s fights over London, the Germans on Tuesday afternoon sent more than 200 fighters across the Channel. Battles were fought in a hundred-miles-an-hour gale over Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and the Thames Estuary. Although our lighter pilots were handicapped by heavy clouds when searching for the enemy, they destroyed four aircraft. Gunners on the southeast coast also shot down two. The first formation of Messerschmitts approached the sea coast at 3 p.m. They continued to come over in waves of 20 and 30 for the next half-hour. At 25.000 ft over Maidstone 12 Spitfires routed a formation of Messerschmitts. Although these famous fighter command auxiliary pilots do not claim to have definitely destroyed any German machines, the pilots when they landed said; “ One was swaying in a dive with white smoke pouring from the fuselage, a second was flying very slowly at t.oooft, and a third was spinning out of control.” LASSDOED BY BALLOON CABLE RAILWAYMAN FATALLY INJURED LONDON, September 16. At an inquest on a railwayman. Daniel Dunsden, it was revealed that the trailing cable of a breakaway barrage balloon lassooed him around the waist, lifting him up and crashing his head against a telephone box, breaking his neck. The balloon drifted off to sea.

killed or injured in south-west London. At Portsmouth a church and several houses were bit, and a small number of people injured. At about 3.15 p.m. several large waves of enemy aircraft crossed the coast of Kent, flying in the direction of London, and a large force was despatched to intercept the enemy. No major battle took place, but contact was made over Kent. The enemy promptly scattered and did not penetrate further inland than Maidstone. Present reports show that before the enemy reached safety our fighter’s destroyed five, and two were shot down by anti-aircraft fire, ll is now known that only 11 of our pilots wore lust in Snndav's air battles.”