NARROW ESCAPES

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21242, 12 October 1940, Page 7

NARROW ESCAPES

BOMBING OF CATHEDRAL DAMAGE AT ST. PAUL’S CANON HORRIFIED (United Press Asn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received Oct. 12, 11 a.m.) LONDON, Oct. 11 Despite damage to St. Paul’s Cathedral by a bomb, the week-day and Sunday services are not being interrupted. They are being held in Saint Faith’s Chapel crypt. A service was held ten hours after the bombing. Forty people, including the Cathedral’s air raid workers, clergy, members of the Cathedral staff and their families were sleeping in the crypt when the bomb fell on the Cathedral. The treasurer, Canon Alexander, said:— “My bed was almost under the altar. I thought the raid was over, when Suddenly there was a great thump and the whole building shook tremendously. We rushed up horrified with what we saw.” The surveyors’ preliminary report confirms that the Cathedral’s fabric was not affected. Pieces of paper immediately stuck across suspicious cracks did not reveal deviations. More Raids on London The Air Ministry communique states: Enemy planes scattered explosives and incendiaries over a wide area in London and its suburbs last night, damaging a number of houses and commercial buildings and causing some fires. None of the fires was extensive and were soon under control. It is known that some people were killed or injured. In a South Wales town some houses were demolished and a small number of persons killed or injured. Attacks were also made on three towns in North-eastern England, with a few casualties. No Heavy Bombers The air battles in which five enemy aircraft were destroyed while five British fighters were lost but the pilots of all have been saved, though one was wounded, are described in the following communique: “Formations of enemy aircraft crossed the coast of Kent on several occasions to-day. Most of them wei . fighters and no heavy bombing attacks have been reported. “Bombs have been dropped on several places in Kent and Sussex and near the Thames Estuary. Casualties here w*ere not numerous, but a small number of fatalities have been reported. There was some damage to shops and houses at Canterbury, where the windows of a cathedral were broken. The enemy also crosed the Dorset coast this morning and again this afternoon, but did not penetrate on either occasion, far inland. No casualties or damage have been reported from this area.’ Building Remains Standing There were many remarkable escapes in last night’s raids. Four bombs, which straddled a street, flung people from their beds in their shelters in the cellars of their houses. They caused a fire but only a few minor injuries. A seven-storey office building, with the wreckage on three sides, remained standing and undamaged except for the blast effect on doors and windows, A large number of people were sleeping in the shelter below and they are safe. One of a number of time bombs fell within a few yards of a hospital, from which the patients and staff were evacuated to other hospitals, within half an hour.

Incendiary bombs damaged a technical college in the same area and an explosive bomb wrecked a house killing one and injuring three. Another bomb brought down three office-flat premises. Gas started a fire and several buildings, containing flats, were wrecked in a street leading to a famous square.

Rescuers were digging throughout the night and brought out seven people from cellars in a residential district. Twenty-nine people were killed in a raid on a thickly populated district in a north-east town last night. Twelve houses were demolished and 50 were severely damaged. The death-roll is incomplete but a number is feared to be still buried under the wreckage.”

LONG=RANGE GUNFIRE

GIANT TONGUE OF FLAME ATTACK ON FRENCH COAST (Uniletl Pres* Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON. Oct. 11 Strong forces of British bombers last night inflicted terrific punishment on a battery of four German long-range guns beside Cap Gris Nez lighthouse after they had shelled the Dover area for half an hour at dusk. Watchers on the cliffs saw a giant tongue of flame through the mist enshrouding the French shore, and a shell burst with a terrific explosion several seconds later. Another followed, after which two guns fired simultaneously, and then four together. After half an hour’s sporadic firing by the Germans, British bombers roared across the coast through a south-westerly gale, and sheets of orange flame slashed the darkening sky as the raiders launched what appeared to be an avalanche of bombs on the German gun emplacements. The illuminations were the most brilliant yet seen from the Kent coast. The raiders then widened the area of their attack and turned against Calais. Scores of bombs burst in clusters for many miles along the coast. “ Flaming onions *’ from the German anti-aircraft batteries poured through the darkness, and dozens of star shells and searchlights lit up the sky. The attack seemed to extend inland because the coastline was silhouetted against the glare of bomb explosions. Marshal Dc Bono, of the Italian Army, has arrived in Madrid. He was enthusiastically welcomed.