1666 & ALL THAT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 January 1941, Page 6

1666 & ALL THAT

GREAT FIRE OF LONDON

HITLERS FAILURE.

TO REPEAT FORMER CONFLAGRATION.

In September. 1666, the Great Fire of London burned for three days and consumed 400 streets and 13.200 houses. On the evening of December 29. 1940. Herr Hitler’s air force tried to repeat the dose. It failed. The fireworks that fizzled out is the city's name for Hitler's command performance. As Mr Pepys watched its predecessor lie saw "more and more it-, corners, and upon steeples between churches, and the houses, the spread of the horrid, malicious, bloody flame." The watchers of 1940 did not stop to gaze. Armed with soil scooped from churchyards, an army of householders backed up the work of the fire services. Professionals and amateurs alike felt all square with Hitler when morning showed shut they had foiled his plan.

“Roll out the Fire Hose’" runs our new wording to the song hit of 1940. "Pour on Water! Pour on Water!" echoes one of London's older songs, and true to tradition London’s fire brigade and auxiliary tire service went into action in a way that made its citizens proud. “At dawn this morning I looked for flagging energy or fatigue and found num?," said the Lord Mayor, and the city workers arriving in his wake, set to with equal vigour to swill out desks and wring out ledger?; in the knowledge that a formidable enemy had been downed! “Jump t<> it!" was the shout aS the shower of incendiaries crackled down. Saucepan. tin hat, bucket —-any scoop will do to snuff a newly-fallen bomb. “Turn that dustbin on to it, ' Gioutvd a friendly voice, and London’s garbage went to it just as potently ax the more orthodox sand. Overheard: I told them there was ->ne on the top of their cinema and they were up the side like lamplighter: " "Tiie Duke of Wellington has lost his left hand, but not hi, conquering look ” "We don’t know who he was. He put out four and dissp-jk-ared before we could thank him." w..- midnight when 1 went on to the roof ami instinctively at the tup of the sooty ladder I looked at the dir! on ir . hands 1 could see it plmrdy it .o. light a- day Billow.- of pick and black smoke threw the nearby building- mto .mlhom-tte and parted mo-.- and again t- reveal Hu- cn ■ <‘f St. Paul' m' - a- Hh ■ etli‘< ted J ght I ■/. <■ ■ . ; ■ quite d:u k The blaze uutil “ PHOENIX FROM THE FLAMES. U<m:;..o':oWitlt is 0-1/■ t hi. cause 'io■ t/ - fir« blazed the same . : mi 1< ' for tit<- second time a vista : r<-d rvmmi:- Th:-, tar- the -c.o- arc' ao - 0..;-m ’ In i? ‘ v,iwn tht m: v : ■ ■ . . ■ o ir’..mJv choo . the s:o. ..kb io? :I J ’ n . ~ th . .e. .. . } „ 1 s.s .mJ I imp. I'. I ■ m . ' , - ' " -. . . . - . . Im" ( ■ ■ ■ ' ' ■’ -! i ' V ■ . ‘ l o. !(!<'(.