NAZI BOMBING OF ENGLAND

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 27, 26 October 1940, Page 9

NAZI BOMBING OF ENGLAND

Not So Bad As Was Expected

NEW ZEALAND DOCTOR'S LETTER HOME

The opinion that the Nazi bombing is not half so bad as the people of England expected is expressed by Dr. J. V. Cable, M.R.C.P., son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Cable, Hataitai, in a letter in Avhieh he relates his experiences while on the staff of a Midlands hospital. “We have been having raids almost every night lately, some lasting all night, wave after wave of ’planes attacking,” he says. “There lias, unfortunately, l>een rather a low ceiling of cloud which has favoured the Germans, and made it dillicult for us, but in spite of this they appear to be bombing from a height of four to five miles. Consequently accuracy has not been good. “They managed to get some tires started earlier this week and made the sky a lurid colour, which looked much worse than it really was. There is an emergency hospital under the control of this hospital in a district which has been raided frequently, and we take it in turns and sleep (if it can be called sleep) there. I have been stationed at this emergency hospital for the last two weeks and last Sunday night, when my taxi was about halfway out. a raid started. Being the holder of a special card which confers the high privilege of being able to be out during an air raid. I proceeded with the lights off. A Beautiful View.

"When I got out, I had to walk ;rbout 500 yards along a track in the grounds, which had bomb craters as the result of a previous raid, before reaching my quarters. I had a beautiful view of the proceedings. The .seitrcldighLs were operating in two groups with hundreds of beams pointing up tike spokes of two huge wheels, following the plant's along the sky. The anti-aircraft guns were going hard ami one could see Hashes ns the guns went off, followed by a little pink blob in the .sky as the shell burst and then a whistling as the shrapnel came down. Needless to say, there .wits a terrific din from the guns, and every now and then a different low boom as a bomb exploded. When I reached my place everyone was underground in a concrete shelter, so 1 dozed there in my clothes on tr garden seat till the ‘all clear’ went at about 5.30 a.m.

“Long before the 'till clear’ was .sounded, however, the planes started coming closer to us and every now and then one could hear, above the noise of gunlire trad explosions, the screaming sound of bombs falling near. This is rather more disturbing than the noise and concussion of lhe explosion itself. They were dropping delayedaciioti bombs and a couple went off nearby, just as I was undressing to take a spell in bed. The hospital had seven bombs drop|>ed on it a few nights before the raid referred to, but It is remarkable bow little damage is done unless a direct hit is obtained. Actually. all the damage they did was to blow out the end of the nurses’ home. As the nurses were all underground no one was injured. “The Germans are coming over earlier each uighl now and last night they arrived about a quarter past nine. The night before I went to the theatre

Io hear Kichard Tauber in the 'Land of Smiles'—(lie performance .-farted early and I got home before the raiders arrived. Due usually knows that Jerry is in Iho vicinity before the sirens go because of (he cha'racteristie noise of fhe German engines—a sort of beat phenomena caused by u synchronizing of the engines. I have been fold that Ibis is done Io make sound detection dilliculi. but cannot say whether this is correct. "To Our Funk Holes."

"At about live to nine each night. 1 undress, [ml on 'my pyjamas, then a pair of old corduroy trousers, u sweater ami finally'a dressing-gown. 'Phen 1 roll up my eiderdown and put a strap round it. and after picking up my gasmask ami electric foreh, go down to the common room Io hear the Si o’clock news. Uy the lime the news bulletin is over we usually hear the screaming of the siren and we then proceed to our 'funk holes.’ I have a mattress down in a cellar and I go there and sleep till wakened by the 'nil clear' siren, when I am able to proceed Io my room. Unfortunately, somei limes one just gels back Io bed when another 'take cover' sounds —I am afraid I usually risk ii and remain in bed. These raids are not worrying us much and we are getting used to them. While they will always be a nuisance they will never get the [icople of England down. There is always a sort of picnic spirit about the whole business. One great moral advantage I we have is that we have always ex- ' peeled heavy bombing from the mo-I men! the war started and so far it’s not half so bad as everyone expected. The main thing is t<, see that you get your sleep.''