SUICIDE SQUADS

Taranaki Daily News, 17 September 1940, Page 7

SUICIDE SQUADS

By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.

HUGE BOMB REMOVED ST. PAUL'S ENDANGERED STORY OF COOL HEROISM

Rec. 8 p.m. London, Sept. 16. With pictures and prose the newspapers applaud the courage of the "suicide squads" who, under the more prosaic title of bomb disposal sections of the Royal Engineers, have dealt effectively with many delayed action bombs. That removed from St. Paul's was one of the largest dropped on London. The official account of its removal by a squad' under Lieuicnant R. Davies is among the most remarkable stories of the battle for London. The Ministry of Home Security states: "Only the courage and tenacity of Lieutenant Davies and his men prevented St Paul's from being levelled to the ground." The bomb entered the roadway at the edge of the pavement. When the bomb disposal section began to dig they found that a six-inch gas main had been fractured and three men , were gassed at an early stage. A gas company ws called in to deal with the main, which had caught fire. No one then knew how close to the blazing main the bomb might have been. Deep Digging Neeessary. When the gas at last had been cut off the bomb disposal section had to dig for 27 feet 6 inchea into the subsoil before it found the bomb. It proved to be a ton in weight, and it looked like a vast hog about eight feet long. Moreover, it was fitted with fuses which made it deadly dangerous to touch or move. To save devastating damage to St. Paul's the risk of removal had to be undertaken and with great difficulty it was drawn up with special tackle, for a high polish had ' been imparted to it through the soil, making it difficult to handle. Two lorries in tandem were required to haul it out of the hole. Streets were cleared by the police for the four and a half miles from St. Paul's to Hackney Marshes, the " bomb was placed on a vast lorry and it waS driven away at high speed, the risk of explosion being imminent the whole time. On Sunday at Hackney Marshes the bomb was blown up by the bomb disposal section. Great Crater Caused. II caused a 100ft crater and rattled windows, and in one place loosened plaster in houses far away on the marshes. It is considered that had the bomb exploded where it landed the cathedral would have been utterly wrecked. London's skyline is unchanged after a week in which alarms have totalled no fewer than 70 hours. The fact that it is still possible to use the hackneyed phrase, "St. Paul's silhouetted against the sky," is not the least of Londoners' joys. A large area around the famous cathedral had been roped" off for days while the explosion which might have done irreparable damage was breathlessly awaited. No service was held this morning, the first time for years. The authorities say that it should be possible for life around the cathedral to return to normal to-morrow.