BLITZ DAMAGE IN LONDON

Southland Times, Issue 24873, 13 October 1942, Page 4

BLITZ DAMAGE IN LONDON

Interesting Pictures An idea of the damage wrought in London by the German blitz and an indication of the much greater damage that must have been' done in Cologne and other German cities by the much heavier raids of the Royal Air Force are given by a series of interesting pictures which are on display in a window of the store of Herbert, Haynes and Co., Ltd., Tay street. The pictures were sent out by the firm’s London buyers, Bickley and Bell, Ltd., who have been twice bombed out of their premises. In a letter which accompanied the photographs it was stated that some of them were a gift from the London Press Club and the rest were purchased from The Times Library of war photographs. In the main the selected pictures included some well-known building recognizable by the occasional visitor to the city. It is probably because of this that St. Paul’s Cathedral figures in a number of the photographs. It is worth noting that while devastation was caused close by St. Paul’s and in more than one direction, the famous dome still stands proudly intact. There is a view of Ludgate Hill which might not be recognizable to one who knows London only as a visitor were it not for the fact that St. Paul’s is there in the background. There are views of Aldergate street, St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, Holborrt Viaduct, the Temple and the interior of the Guildhall, all showing much devastation and destruction. There is a view, too, of the front exterior of the Guildhall on the day after the blitz of December 31, 1940. From this view the building seems intact and on the flagstaff the Union Jack flutters in the breeze. The card giving the details of this picture has the quotation: “Ever aloft from the topmost roof the banner of England flew.” The Union Jack floating aloft and this quotation are apt expressions of the spirit of the Londoners and of the people of the Old Country as a whole, a spirit that is not to be broken by German bombs or Nazi frightfulness.