RESCUE DRAMA IN YORKSHIRE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 9, 5 October 1940, Page 11

RESCUE DRAMA IN YORKSHIRE

Danger In A Bombed! Building

TYPICAL “ROUGH JOB”| i British Ollieial Wireless.) RUGBY, October 2. A story showing what "rough , jobs" mean for the A.R.P. rescue | squads of Bridlington, Yorkshire, j is told in a broadcast by AlrJ Thomas Alderson, oi Leeds, one of | the first recipients oi the George | Cross. "About our worst time.” he said, "was when two live-story buildings got a direct hit. We were called out and found them in ruins, with the planes still about and bombs crumping in the distance. “We searched round and found a basement door partly uncovered. In one house the walls were still standing, and they did not look' very safe, but we started at that basement door and cleared it. “Nothing was too small to move, aud I passed bits of brick, plaster and wood back along a chain of men till we managed to get inside. Tiie ground floor joists had collapsed and jammed between tiie basement wall and the floor, and this had given protection to four people in a corner. There was a big farmhouse table in the middle of the floor, and it had partly collapsed and was half-supporting the beams and smashed walls from the floors above. Lving on my side, I began to work a hole over the table, keeping a wary eye on the unsafe debris and passing the bricks aud rubbish back along the chain of men. At last there was enough space for us to slide the four peopleffiicad first into the hole over the table, swing their legs round and pull them backward through the basement door.

Wounded Children. "A boy and girl were still left, badly trapped'under heavy joists toward the centre of the basement. The table had now to be carefully broken up and removed, and again the debris was passed out bit by bit. There was not room to use the standard A.A.P. jacks and I called for motor-car jacks. With these we managed to raise the main joist a little, but it started to crack. By jacking immediately underneath the crack I raised the joist still farther.

"By this time the cellar was filling with coal gas, and water appeared to be rising on the floor. The boy and girl were in severe pain, so I called a doctor to give them an injection. We had to work them free from the joists and slide them out, but at last, after four hours’ hard work vyith shaded hand torches as the only means of light, it was done. Planes were still humming overhead but I had been too busy to notice them.” Mr. Alderson, who is a supervisor for the Bridlington Corporation, had been training his workmen in rescue work for the past two years.

BOMBS ON EIRE Nazis Promise To Pay Compensation LONDON. October 3. Germany has now been forced to admit that the bombs which were dropped on Eire in August, were German. A German statement says that investigation showed that the bombs really were dropi>ed from a German plane which had lost its direction. Therefore, rite German Government will express its regret to Dublin and promise compensation for the damage. But even tills grudging admission is given a twist. The German news agency talks about, “the latest bombs dropped on Ireland” as if there hn>l been a whole series. • Tips may be Intended to keep up the pretence of Hie first official account from Berlin of the incident, which was that the bombing was much more likely to have been done deliberately by a British plane. 'The bombs were dropped on three points in County Wexford. A creamery was wrecked and three girls were killed. Six days previously a German plane had crashed in Eire. At the beginning og August an Irish steamer was bombed and damaged by a Gedman plane off the coast of Cork.

STRAIN ON GERMANY Evidence In Radio Reports (Received October 4. 10.45 p.m.) LONDON, October 4. Evidence that Germany is feeling the severity of the air war is provided by four statements picked up by the “Daily Mail” radio station from German-con-trolled radios. The first stated that Berlin yesterday evacuated 5000 women and children. The second admitted that R.A.F. raids in the last two nights resulted in 2543 casualties. 'The third announced the destruction of a “very important factory” in western Germany. Regarding this Goebbels promised the severest reprisals. In the fourth statement Berlin announced the losses on Wednesday of 12 German planes and one British.

RAIDS ON GERMANY

What The Nazis Admit (Received October 4, 9 p.m.) BERLIN, October 4. It is ollicially announced that tlte R.A.F. carried out 1741 attacks on Germany and German-occupied territory, dropping 7542 bombs during September. Of Hie attacks, it is stated. 1.(5 per cent, caused military damage, 50.4 civilian damage or deaths, and 48 wire unsuccessful.

EARLY SUCCESS

Canadian Armed Merchant Cruiser (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 3. The following cable has been received by the Canadian Government from the First Lord of the Admiralty:—"Please convey congratulations to all concerned on iho capture of the German ship Weser. 'Phis early success for His Majesty's Canadian ship Prince Robert on her maiden voyage. 1 am sure, is a good augury for the future."

The Prince Robert, an armed merchant cruiser, captured the Weser off the coast of Mexico on September 25.

SOUTH AFRICAN LOAN CAPE TOWN. Oelober 3. It is ollicially announced that it is intended to float a new £18.000.000 loan [before November.