LONDON PEOPLE DETERMINED

Southland Times, Issue 24244, 30 September 1940, Page 5

LONDON PEOPLE DETERMINED

The third week of the battle of London has come and gone. To thousands of Londoners these three weeks have meant the death and mutilation of loved ones and the destruction of homes and household treasures. Many of these persons have moved out to safer and quieter areas in which to carry on their part in the Empire’s battle. Hundreds of -thousands of others, including all of London’s essential workers, remain in the capital tempered by suffering to a resistance which is steellike in the sharpness of its anger and resilience and in the strength of its determination. Indeed, that is the mood throughout this island based on the knowledge that the losses are far from one-sided. Germany’s three weeks of blitzbombing cost her over 1000 planes compared with 283 British. Her losses of airmen are many times ours. Germany’s total losses at midnight on Friday were 4604 and Britain’s 1381. ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE Greater London’s anti-aircraft guns are now able to fire an average of more than one shell a second throughout the night. Britain’s anti-aircraft guns could fire the entire 1918 production in less than a month. London’s guns are capable night after night of keeping dozens of tons of metal continually bursting in the sky. The gunfire is chiefly of two classes. First, groups of batteries put up a “pattern” fire, forcing bombers to sheer off to avoid destruction and preventing accurate bombing; second, other batteries try to hit single machines or formations. The fire is designed to “bracket” the enemy with groups of shells in front and behind, then plaster the correct area. The perfection to which members of the Auxiliary Fire Service have brought their work was evidenced when dozens of fires broke out in all parts of London. All were quickly controlled, firemen jumping in and out of blazing infernos regardless of their personal safety and nullifying the effects of incendiary bombs dropped in the poorer and more inflammable areas. Incendiary bombs were showered on North London suburbs and also gutted a north-west district public library.' Thousands of books were burned. A warehouse was gutted in central London. Four persons were

killed in a shelter in a south-western suburb. The number of raiders destroyed was over 1000 for the month. HEAVY THRASHINGS A series of thrashings inflicted on the German Air Force on Friday resulted in 133 raiders being destroyed compared with the British losses of 34 planes and 18 pilots. The Industrial Welfare Society has issued a brochure pointing out that it is the duty of firms to employ a full or part-time medical officer and recommending the method of preventing sickness among workers. Mr R. J. G. Boothby, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food, made a two-hour dawn pilgrimage to the shelters to investiate the need for emergency feeding and tonight Lord Woolton, Minister of Food, told local authorities that they should arrange for adequate feeding “in the event of disasters such as are being inflicted on London.” W. Davies, a workman who was seriously injured when the Royal Chapel at Buckingham Palace was bombed, died in hospital. The Minister of Home Security, Sir John Anderson, announced a regulation empowering local authorities to order the opening of any premises day or night for public use as shelters. Several London authorities have signed the regulation in advance for the purpose of implementing it without delay. London boroughs similarly are expeditiously installing shelter bunks. Some shelters are being divided into compartments, providing family underground homes with double-decker bunks. Sir John Anderson announced that he was retaining Lord Horder, the famous physician, on the committee of advice regarding shelter health problems. A member of the committee, Mrs Creswick Atkinson, said that the division of shelters into compartments was most important, particularly for children, preventing the risk of infection, which was bound to be prevalent in larger shelters. The heating of shelters was being carefully considered, but in this regard the fact that there was already inadequate ventilation was a serious difficulty.