ALL-NIGHT FURY OF GERMAN BLITZ.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 91, 18 April 1941, Page 7

ALL-NIGHT FURY OF GERMAN BLITZ.

HOSPITALS HIT.

I Rescuers Toil In Debris

As Bombs Fall.

Ln 'M Prnss .W.|;, t ion.~r,, I ,vri s .'l,r. lß *a- 12.30 p.m.) LONDON". April 17. Last night's raid on London was Y api ! al ' S worst of the war, says i«IP mf ' ssa?,> fl ' oM the A*socibnmk ' For pi " ht hoiii-ri German Jmbers vente.l their furv on the ■'nocent citizens of London", who hail JPenenced nothing like this (orrifie la«ght, even at (ho height ~f the au tumn blitz. Ma «y previous a, sa nils had been ' n °™ prolonged, but none caused such a ama ge. Raiders began to stream ""oss the coast immediately after dark, ter which there was " scarcely a lute's lull i n tlle f proc j ous bombing. Wldings sometimes shuddered incesS a for lo »S period*, with the old d ♦ SoU ' ,cl "'" '•'">•'!"? walls rising C? nr,lfi "" > hnr *t* "' fenfire and vhlr , Un P iiuiso of the planes itemed to „«,„,,, Imv ,,. t] J, ever

Hundred, of raiders were obviously relafj tlle il(ti "k. which was not The fi Untli the fll '* t J-'l'"'iner of dawn. oißht Vf Ce glow of lirp * throughout the Mn. i. *i Up the entire capital. Coastal r»idL 7 en " a g etl the early waves of froon ,B ' the attackers pressed on, bonih g es an<l thousands of fire mw as guides for following planes. Blazing Buildings Guide Bombers. buildi »?s were blazing as later ther J roaied in with high explosives. svmnL d llever bee " Mllh a " unholv Cd \7 y ' n Londo,l ' s "'glit sky. Many ,v «re fi ° f file watclievs ' whose services "lUtei * cal,cc ' °n in earnest, were flieirli *t the hours-long roar over "ot h S &Uch as L(Jlldon su l' ar liail

Hospitals again suffered severely. Three wore struck, but there are few casualties. Considerable damage was done when two bombs fell near one hospital demolishing several houses. There were no casualties among the inmates of the hospital. Fifteen persons were buried under houees when a heavy bomb fell. A rescue squad extricated most of the victims, digging under the debris by the light of torches. A woman and two children who are still trapped are feared to be all dead. Horrors of Totaf Warfare. "This great raid brought back residents with a jolt to the realities of total war, which the lull of the past few months had inclined them to force into the background." says a correspondent of the Associated Press in a special report.

'"Some bombs directly hit shelters. I heard the wife of a hard-bitten Canadian major ask a hotel waiter for a double brandy for her husband. She said, 'He lias been pulling out bodies from the debris and feels rather washed out.' Auxiliary firemen and A.R.P. members worked like Trojans. A Canadian soldier, grimy and perspiring, approached two Associated Frees reporters and said, '(iive u- a hand with this hose. 1 think we can put out that fire. I'm lending a hand. Wo are all ill this.' "•Three men from the Dominions struggled in uncoupling and drugging hoses to a. fire. Certain Australian and Xew Zealand news organisations are thankful to have been able, as a precaution, to evacuate a building—under orders from the authorities—and walk from their office to a hotel while the Germans flew overhead, anti-aircraft batteries barked and bombs fell.

"Awed and silent suburban residents L'oiiiL' to the city were scarcely able to belie'Ve that tins was the London of yesterday. Taxi-drivers were uncommunicative and morose. Even the sight of a tailor's dummy dressed in an officer's uniform astride a grand piano failed to produce a emilo anions workers picking their way through debris. A.R.P. members were feverishly working to recover those trapped, with Httle hope that they were alive. "In the main thoroughfare electric standards were torn up and flung across the streets, while in a florist's shop window stood undisturbed a vase of English roses."'