ATTACKS ON LONDON

Evening Star, Issue 23702, 9 October 1940, Page 7

ATTACKS ON LONDON

ENEMY OVER AT GREAT HEIGHT SEVERAL SHOT DOWN BY R.A.F. RANDOM BOMBS CAUSE DAMAGE AND CASUALTIES fßritish Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright RUGBY, October 8. (Received October 9, at 10.30 a.m.) Attacks on London by German bombers and fighters this morning are described in the following communique:— “ Enemy aircraft which flew over London at a great height were engaged by our fighters and several were shot down. Some bombs were dropped, but despite the fact that traffic was at its height the casualties were not numerous. There were, however, some fatal injuries among railway passengers, a train being hit by debris. Another bomb on a main thoroughfare seriously damaged two omnibuses, and a number of persons were killed and others seriously injured. Later an attack was made by low-flying aircraft, in which a shelter and some industrial buildings were damaged. Particulars of the casualties are not available. A few bombs are reported to have been dropped on other parts of south-east England during the morning, but no serious damage or casualties are reported.” NIGHT VISITORS. An official communique states: There were widespread raids during the night over Britain. Many bombs were dropped in London and the suburbs and also in a town in North-west England. (Reports so far indicate that the dam age, and casualties were not heavy considering the scale of the attacks. Bombs were also dropped in a number of bther districts in England and in a few places in Scotland and Wales. Industrial plant in a South-east England town was damaged and there were a few casualties. Later reports show that 27 enemy planes were destroyed yesterday, not 28. Sixteen of our fighters were lost, but 10 of the pilots are safe. INDISCRIMINATE BOMBING (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 8. (Received October 9, at 10.40 a.m.) A joint communique giving the latest, available particulars of the enemy’s actions in Britain to-day states: In an attack on London by low-flying aircraft this morning little damage and few casualties were caused, but some were fatal. The enemy aircraft were unable to penetrate inland, and again dropped bombs indiscriminately in coastal towns in Kent and Sussex, damaging houses and commercial property. Three enemy aircraft were shot down by our fighters. Two of our lighters arc missing. Aircraft of the Coastal Command, without loss, shot down two enemy aircraft to-day over the English Channel, In an attack yesterday afternoon on south-west England some damage was done to a number of houses and a factory. The casualties were not heavy, but included a number of persons killed. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE BOMBS FALL IN CROWDED STREET LONDON, October 8. (Received October 9, at 11.30 a.m.) Guns and bombs shattered the night air repeatedly till dawn. Damage was reported from 10 districts in the Loudon area. The searchlights were much more active than on the previous nights. British planes also joined in the hunt for the raiders.

A bomb in the London area demolished an electric light showrooms and damaged adjoining houses. Another blew out the windows of a police station, a police court, and a town hall. An incendiary fell outside a bank in a famous street and another in an arcade, and several fell in buildings in a small area, including a large block of flats. A Molotov breadbasket fell in a large London shop adjoining others, which were wrecked by a largecalibre bomb a fortnight ago. An incendiary started a fire in the evacuated wing of a hospital, which the staff put out after an hour. Two bombs demolished a church. A raider going home in the morning dropped six bombs in a suburb, demolishing two houses, killing two people, and injuring others who were sleeping on the ground floor. A.U.P. workers cut a hole through the debris, through which the residents escaped. A bomb hit a large building in the London area used as sales rooms and workshops for the blind and caused a fierce fire, burning out the roof and upper stories. ' The first alert in the Loudon area in the morning began with the dropping of bombs, after which there was no sound until the “ raiders passed ” signal was given. Two bombs fell in quick succession iu a street crowded with the usual morning rush-hour traffic. A third hit the top of a building, causing large lumps of masonry to fall into the street. A fourth hit a motor bus and injured passengers.

TRAGIC SCENES VICTIMS BURIED UNDER DEBRIS LONDON, October 8. (Received October 9, at 10.p5 a.m.) About 60 German planes were engaged by anti-aircraft defences and fighters over London during the first alert. Rescuers recovered some bodies from the wrecked bus. Some passengers were trapped on the top deck, for whom there is little hope. Some of those killed are also believed to bo under a heap of rubble which had been a nearby shop. Another bomb demolished a block of buildings, where at least two were killed. Several were killed and injured during the second alert, when a high-ex-plosive bomb destroyed three sets of premises and a number of shops on both sides of one road. Two men were killed instantly at the entrance to a restaurant. Others were buried under debris and arc believed to'have been killed. A bomb which fell in a garden blew an Anderson shelter over a house into the street. Three Mosserschmitts dive-bombed a south-east coast town this morning, wrecking a bouse and causing a number of casualties before the raiders ■were driven off. Liverpool was raided several times last night. A number of high explosives and incendiaries fell on various points, damaging houses in the work-ing-class and residential districts. There were several casualties, one of which was fatal. Another north-west town had the heaviest air raid since the outbreak of war. There were several deaths when a block of corporation flats was hit. Some people were fatally injured when a bomb hit a south-eastern emergency hospital. DEATH RULI MOUNTING LONDON, October 8. (Received October 9, at 11.15 a.m.) The steady flow of reports indicates a mounting death roll in last night's and to-day’s raids against London. Many casualties were sent to hospital after the first morning alert who were beyond aid. ♦ Two children were killed this morning when several houses were demolished and people were trapped under the wreckage. Three were killed and many injured in a district in the outskirts of London, A well-known school received 18 incendiaries, while five incendiaries fell on the playing fields of a noted Roman Catholic public school. A German communique says: “ During the whole night our bombers ceaselessly plastered transport facilities, food establishments, and other targets in London, resulting in numerous fires and serious damage.”, RUSSIAN PRINCESS KILLED Princess Catherine Calitzine, a Russian princess and friend of the Duchess of Kent, to whom she was distantly related, was killed during a London raid to-day, when the bus in which she "•as travelling to work was directlyhit. MONDAY'S RAIDS BIG BATTLE OVER DORSET LONDON, October 7. A Channel weather report states that there is a cloudless, starry sky, with a fairly calm sea, a fresh south-westerly breeze, and a slight mist in the middle of the straits. A big air battle occurred over'Dorset late this afternoon, when seven raiders were shot down. A high-explosive bomb fell almost directly on a publicshelter in a western town, trapping women and children under masses of debris from a neighbouring Rescuers worked feverishly to extricate those in the shelter, but a number are known to be dead. Other deaths resulted from a direct hit which demolished a tailoring establishment. A baker and a horse were killed in the roadway. Incendiary bombs rained down on Central London, setting fire to buildings, but the fires w-ere quickly extinguished. A steady stream of raiders flew at great speed from the south-east, frequently changing direction to avoid blazing guns and searchlights. Night raiders were also over Liverpool, other North-west English areas, the Midlands. West England, Southeast Scotland, and Wales. The Air Ministry announced that the day’s raids damaged a town in Southwest England and commercial property in two boroughs of London. The casualties thus far are reported to ne not heavy. AIR RAID VICTIMS LORD MAYOR OF LONDON'S FUND (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 7. The Lord -Mayor of London’s air raid distress fund has reached a total of £1,030,000 as a result of several large contributions from overseas, which included a further £60,000 from the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, £IO,OOO from Bengal, another £5,000 from Tasmania, £4,000 from Perth, Western Australia, and 10,000 rupees from the Maharaja of Rewa. HIMMLER AND DE BOND VISIT TO SPAIN MADRID. October 8. Himmler and Marshal de Bono are expected in Spain within a few days.