LONDON GOES WEST

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 199, 5 January 1942, Page 3

LONDON GOES WEST

BLITZ FRAGMENTS FOR U.S.A. Americans will soon be able to buy in the United States a fragment of blitzed London. Portland stone, subjected to intense heat, is no longer of use for building purposes and many tons of such material is now being turned into articles of use and beauty. Designed by Fellows of the Rcyal j Institute of British Sculptors and ■ cut by master masons, the debris of shattered historical buildings is taking shape as lamp stands, ink wells, cigarette trays, clock?, pipe racks, book ends, bird tables, bird baths and miniature rock gardens. The first shipment will include articles made-from bits blown from Bow Church, made famous by Dick Whittington, and from the famous criminal court, the Old Bailey, each carrying a certificate; of genuine ness. Into this arc written precise details of the building from which that actual stone came. Article and certificate both carry identification numbers . for authentication, and with each article goes a beautiful volume of photographs of the blitzed city. Into the stone of many of these fine designs is let a lead medallion —a bull dog, or symbolic badge of the A.R.P. or A.F.S. The R.A.F. Benevolent Fund will share the proceeds.