BOMBING IN CHINA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 December 1938, Page 8

BOMBING IN CHINA

TORMENT AND MASSACRE OF CIVILIANS. JAPANESE POOR MARKSMEN. Poor marksmanship of the Japanese aviators is chiefly responsible for the destruction of hospitals in the stricken areas of China which are daily ravaged by bombing raids, in the opinion of the Rev D. N. Mac Diarmid, who is director of the Presbyterian Foreign Missions in China, and a brother of Mr C. L. Mac Diarmid, of Hamilton. Writing to his father in New Plymouth Mr Mac Diarmid tells of the harassing torment and. massacre of the helpless civilian population in China from the daily raids. “When we reached Canton three weeks ago things were in much the same state as they had been for over a year. Japanese bombing planes flew daily over the city of Canton and the surrounding country, and dropped bombs on all kinds of military objectives,” wrote Mr Mac Diarmid on October 28. “While we were at the Presbyterian Mission Hospital 14 miles north af Canton not a day passed without at least one bombing raid, and we could hear, and see sometimes, the bombs dropping on or near to bridges and railway lines. There was not much real danger, however, as though an invasion had been threatened for a long time it was so long delayed that no one worried greatly. HOSPITAL DAMAGED. “The Mission Hospital is about a quartdr of a mile from the CantonHankow railway, and the damage done in the hospital compound is due to the Japansese bombing of the line, and not, we believe, to any desire to hit the hospital. “Our most exciting episode took place when we were on a visit to the little branch Mission Hospital run by Miss James about 50 miles north of Canton. On our way back we were held up on the road by two military lorries that had met in a head-on collision. Before the road could be cleared a dozen or more military lorries and other motor vehicles had also been held up like ourselves and we thought What a fine target for Japanese bombers!’ “Sure enough we soon heard the drone of planes coming down from the north, and 10 Japanese planes came into sight. We all took to the fields and lay down behind hedges and in any holes we could find. We hoped the planes would pass by overhead, but no. They saw us and swung round to attack the line of waiting motor vehicles; Soon they dived and dropped three bombs which made an awful din but hit nothing. FUGITIVES MACHINE-GUNNED. “Unfortunately Mrs Mac Diarmid and Miss James had thrown themselves down oh an ants’ nest and were having a pretty bad time, so when the planes were passed and before they turned to come at us again we made a bolt, with two soldier motor drivers, for a Chinese hut into which a couple of women were beckoning us. The Japanese must have seen us running for this shelter, for they made for the house and opened fire With machine-guns while we crouched down and held various articles of Chinese kitchen furniture over our heads to protect us from bullets and any falling tiles brought down by . the explosions of the bombs. “After three bouts of machine-gun-ning and the dropping of a few more bombs the planes went off and we very thankfully regained more dignified positions and got on our way again. None of the nine bombs had hit any of the lorries, and none of our party or of soldiers had been hit, though three bombs dropped near enough to our car to sprinkle it with ’.he sand into which they fell.