LONDONERS JUBILANT

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21219, 16 September 1940, Page 8

LONDONERS JUBILANT

SEE RAIDERS DESTROYED CHEERS FROM EVERY STREET MURDEROUS ONSLAUGHT (United Press Asn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received Sent. 16. 3.15 p.m.) LONDON. Sept. 15 When the sound of dogfights was heard over London this afternoon the air raid shelters emntied faster than they had ever filled. Bombs, fire, shrapnel and machineguns were completely forgotten, and cheers went *up from every street when British fighter planes began literally tearing the raiding planes to pieces. When again driven underground at nightfall the people -who had passively resisted the most murderous onslaught ever aimed at a civilian community had something tangible to grin about. They had seen with their own eyes a sample of the Royal Air Force’s power, which later was expressed by the official bag for the day of at least 175 German planes. London’s skyline is unchanged after a week, in which alarms have totalled no fewer than seventy hours. The fact that it is still possible to use the hackneyed phrase, “Saint Paul’s silhouetted against the sky.” is not the least of Londoners’ joys. Removal of 5001 b. Bomb The removal of a 5001 b. time bomb is a major triumph. A large area around the famous cathedral had been roped off for days while an explosion which might have done irreparable damage was breathlessly awaited. No service was held in the morning for the first time for years. The authorities say it should be possible for life around the cathedral to return to normal tomorrow.