MORALE OF LONDONERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24416, 30 September 1940, Page 6

MORALE OF LONDONERS

.'OBSERVERS IMPRESSED

(British Official Wireless)

RUGBY, Sept. 27.

The speed wTtft'wliicH"Xondon has accommodated itself to front-line battle experiences has deeply impressed'foreign observers, and the disturbance to business life is less pronounced than was anticipated. Some business premises have, of course, been completely destroyed, but in others temporary repair of damage has been undertaken, and with a minimum delay business is being continued. This is particularly noticeable in the case of shopping centres which have been bombed, and even in much-bombed Oxford street business life is once again flowing strongly. Throughout the capital public services which have become so much a part of our iives that continuance passes almost unnoticed are being maintained. Trade as a whole laid its olans before the war and they worked admirably. The arrangements in the uninterrupted operation of the milk distributing trade are good. It is an example of what is occurring in other essential industries, not only in London, but in the nrovincial towns which have been heavily attacked. Protection of Factories A remarkable feature of the bombings is that not only is the loss of life less than was exoected. but the damage to buildings is less than was feared. This was disclosed in a Home Office leaflet on protection of factories, which says: "It is generally imagined that in the case of a direct hit the building and occupants are doomed. This is not supported bv the evidence obtained from a study of recent air raid damage; There have been many cases of'.light 50-kilogram-bombs detonating on the thin corrugated roofing of sihgle-stofeyed factory buildings, with little damage other than to the roof covering and very slight casualties. Similar bombs detonating on the floor of a shop remov? the roof covering over a wide area, but do surprisingly little, damage to machines.- There is very little danger of serious structural damage from a near miss. Verv heavy bombs of 500 kilograms falling within 33 feet of a workshop with corrugated iron walls did no more than strip the sheeting from the steelwork. There is evidence in the case of multistorey buildings, in which all loads ars carried bv steel or reinforced concrete frames, that the damaee caused bv even one direct hit will be local and confined in most cases to the floor and the part hit."