DASTARDLY CRIME

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21370, 14 March 1941, Page 5

DASTARDLY CRIME

BOMBS IN SUITCASES MINISTER IN DANGER l DETAILS OF OUTRAGE (Omclal Wireless) (Received March 14, noon) RUGBY, March 13 Details of the bomb outrage at the Pera Palace Hotel at Istanbul on | March 11 are given in a report from I the former British Minister at Sofia, Mr G. Rendel, received in London. Mr Rendel states that a bomb was contained in one of two suitcases which were surreptitiously added to the hand luggage of the British Legation party before it left Sofia. As a result of careful enquiry the following facts have been established:— The two suitcases were placed on the train when it left Sofia. The stage at which these were added to the luggage has not yet been clearly established, but it seems probable that they were brought to the Legation and treated as belonging to some member of the party. Mr H. A. J. Embury and Mr D. Debethel, clerks to the air attache and military attache respectively, took charge of the suitcases, but, having been unable to find any owners for them after a change of carriages at the frontier station of Svilengrad, opened them. They appeared to contain’ dirty clothing, shaving materials and old Turkish newspapers (the object of which may have been purposely to throw suspicion on some Turkish national), and in one suitcase one, and in the other two, anode electric dry batteries. The suitcase which contained the two batteries was taken to the Pera Palace Hotel by Mr Debethel, and that which contained one was taken to the Alp Hotel by Mr Embury.

Mr Embury was on his way to the Pera Palace Hotel to see Mr Debethel when he heard an explosion, and on seeing the results of the explosion it occurred to him that what appeared to be dry batteries in the suitcases might, in fact, be bombs of enemy origin. With the utmost,presence of mind he hurried back to his hotel and opened the suitcase containing a single battery and threw the battery into a pit in some open ground nearby, thus probably averting a second disaster. The Turkish police were immediately informed and retrieved the battery, removed what turned out to be a fuse, and found it was in fact a bomb filled with a powerful charge of T.N.T. It was therefore clear that powerful bombs had been added to the luggage by some hostile agent before the party left Sofia. It appears probable that the intention was that they should explode on the train, which would have been wrecked, with great loss of life. The escape of the majority of the members of the party is providential and the greatest credit is due to Mr Embury for his courageous action and presence of mind. Mr Anthony Eden’s Horror Agency messages from Cairo report that Mr Anthony Eden sent a message of sympathy to Mr Rendel through the British Ambassador at Ankara. The Foreign Secretary’s telegram said: “Please inform Mr Rendel of my horror and disgust on reading of the dastardly attempt on himself and members of your staff. lam deeply distressed at the reports that members of your staff and Mr Renders staff were injured. Please give them my sympathy and good wishes for a speedy recovery. “I shall be glad if you will convey to the Turkish Government an expression of my deep sympathy in the loss of their nationals as a result of the dastardly outrage.”