NEARLY A HUNDRED KILLED BY RAIDERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 142, 15 June 1917, Page 5

NEARLY A HUNDRED KILLED BY RAIDERS.

SCHOOL WRECKED WITH SIXTY CASUALTIES.

CLOUDS ASSIST ESCAPE O? THE RAIDERS.

LOXDOX, June 14. The raid by German aeroplanes on the East End of London and elsewhere resulted in 07 persons being killed and 439 injured. No military or naval damage was done. The details of the casualties are: Killed, 55 men, 16 ...mien, 2ti children; injured, 223 men, 122 women, and 94 children. One aeroplaue is definitely known to have been brought down. A bomb fell on a railway station, hitting an incoming train. Seven were killed and 17 injured hero. Another bomb fell on a school, tilling 10 children and injuring 50. Terrible scenes were witnessed in the wrecked school. The teachers were about to dismiss the children for lunch. A bomb fell squarely on the roof of the school. It made only a small hole, but the explosion within the room was disastrous. Children screamed and fainted. The teachers strove bravely to pacify their little charges. Due leather was badly wounded. The remainder stuck to their posts, some rendering lirst aid and others taking children not injured to safety. Soldiers assisted in removing the injured in wagons to the hospital. The children were writhing in pain and moaning piteous)}-. Many were dying at their desks or lay dead of ter-He wounds. Mr. Will Crooks, M.P., was 100 yards away when the school wrj bombed. He , threw himself to the ground and escaped injury. Mr. Crook.* says he is astonished that any child survived, for the walls were blown out and desks and seats reduced to atoms. The train which was bombed while arriving at a station was quickly on fire. There were many casualties. The station was barricaded and the work of rescue and the removal of the dead was carried out rapidly. Several bodies could not be identified. Suburban trains resumed -within an hour. RAID LASTS A QUARTER OF AN HOUR. Bombs commenced to fall on the outskirts of East London at 11.30. Many were dropped in rapid succession. A number of warehouses were damaged and fires were caused. A few bombs were also dropped near the North Foreland, on the coast of Kent, where four persons were injured. The raid lasted 15 minutes. Apparently only five aeroplanes reached London. One gro ip returned determinedly after being chased off. (.mis engaged the raiders and many aeroplanes, naval and military, went up as soon as the enemy were reported off the coast. Several engagements occurred, the result* of which are at present uncertain. The gunners at first had diSculty in locating the raiders, which flew very high. Mist, low-lying clouds, and brilliant sunshine made marksmanship difficult, but the gunners afterwards got in good work. The first intimation Londoners had of the raid was the noise of guns and dense masses of smoke rising from various points where bombs had fallen. The streets were soon densely crowded with onlookers. Some women were inclined to be hysterical, and there wae a local panic for a few moments, but the majority of the people showed splendid spirit. Police and soldiers handled the situation with commendable promptitude. There was intense excitement, particularly in the south of London, where spectators witnessed a number of fierial combats. The raiders never descended below 17,000 or 18,000 feet. Bombs fell within 20 yards of a school where there were 1,000 children. They had been drilled to meet emergency, and all got under the desks and remained there while the teacher read a story. One bomb set an empty train on fire. Eight raiders were clearly seen following the Thames, and three flying on the south side. KING'S ANGER AT THE FOUL DEED. The majority of tho victims in London were children, including two mutilated babies who have not been identified. A bomb killed an entire family. The father wae nursing the baby three days old beside the convalescent mother. The house was wrecked. Several aerial torpedoes -were discharged. One crashed into tea blending (tores, killing six girls and seriously injuring Iβ. A bomb demolished a block of offices. AU the floors were wrecked, and 12 persons were killed, including two who were ordered to go to the basement, but instead went into the street. Ono lost an arm and the other both legs, and both died in a few moments. Several were burned on the upper floors. A bomb, falling on a workshop, killed three men and injured 30. Bombs missed two historic London buildings by a few yards. After the raid the hostile aeroplanes were seen passing the coast going towards Germany. They were chased, but the clouds assisted their escape. The King, immediately he heard of the raid, visited the affected areas in a motor-car, and talked with the wounded in the hospital. Viewing the dead women and children in a mortuary the King bitterly exclaimed: "It makes my blood boil. They will do anything." The Berlin newspaper "Morgenpost," under a heavy typo headline, announces the "flight" of the British Government from London.— (A. and N.Z.)