DARK AS NIGHT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 67, Issue 219, 28 June 1947, Page 5

DARK AS NIGHT

GREAT STORM IN LONDON THUNDERBOLT CRASHES fN.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 10.5 a.m.) LONDON, June 27. A terrific thunderstorm which broke over London this morning produced 20 minutes of thunder, lightning and rain equalling, if not exceeding in severity and extent, the great storm of July 26, 1946. The wind, earlier blowing about three miles an hour, whirled suddenly to gusts up to GO miles an hour. London became dark as night. Trams, buses and offices had to switch on lights. Many basements were flooded. The storm caught London’s lunchtime crowds and thousands of women, in flimsy summer dresses, were soaked in seconds. A “thunderbolt,” just before the rain, dropped on Victoria embankment gardens, struck a tree and slightly injured a man sitting nearby. Several other people received electric shocks. The embankment ran like a river itself, beside the blotted-out Thames. The storm, which came after a sultry night, sent water streaming through the bomb-battered roof of the Houses of Parliament and splashed on the Ministerial front bench, causing membere hastily to gather their papers and move to other seats. Westminster Hall probably was never so flooded in its 1000 years’ history. The members’ cloakroom became an island.. Girl secretaries were marooned, amid ankle-deep water, until workmen, engaged in repairs, built a plank bridge for them. Several members walked the plank with them. Some subterranean rooms of the Commons were flooded. Water rushed down the steps of the Press bar. Pressmen stood on chairs to finish their drinks. At Old Bailey, the judge had to transfer the case he was hearing to another court, because the jury seats were swamped by rain coming through the skylight. The storm broke over Windsor Castle just as Princess Alexandra or Kent was taking part in one of the riding classes at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The thunderstorm affected many parts of Southern England and flooded streets in Kent and Sussex towns, including Brighton and other holiday towns.