STILL NO NIGHT RAIDS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 110, 3 February 1941, Page 7

STILL NO NIGHT RAIDS

Enemy Air Activity Over Britain NOVEL DAYLIGHT TACTICS (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyrlgh: ) (Received February 2, 8.30 p.m.) RUGBY, February 1. There was no enemy air activity over Britain tonight. Of the past 13 nights London has now had 12 free from alarms. This morning's official communique states that there was some slight enemy air activity during the early hours of darkness last night, but no bombs were dropped. A later communique issued tonight by the Air Ministry and Ministry of Home Security states that during daylight today there was some enemy air activity over parts of East Anglia, and bomlA were dropped by single aircraft at several places in Norfolk and Suffolk. Buildings were damaged in some of these places and a small number of casualties was caused. LONDON. January 31. German raiders resorted to nighttime methods in a concentrated daylight attack today on the London area in which they bombed a number of districts. Waves of raiders flew in from several directions, which is a familiar night-time method. The Germans are believed to have been balked in their night raiding.by the weather and are now attempting night tactics in daylight. More raiders appeared than yesterday and they made the London area their'chief objective. R.A.F. fighters were heard frequently during London’s succession of alerts. Two enemy bombers were destroyed during daylight raids on Britain today. Thirty members of a London ambulance unit had a narrow escape when a raider scored a direct hit on a hospital. One ambulance officer was killed and a medical student seriously injured. A bomb hit (he boiler-house at another ho.spital and shattered the windows at the hospital chapel. One person was killed. A huge bomb whistled over a crowded shopping centre and landed in a busy street but miraculously only two persons were injured. Shoppers elsewhere extinguished a shower of incendiaries. A heavy barrage frustrated attempts by the raiders to machine-gun balloons. Showers of incendiaries fell in another district and a schoolboy was injured when he attempted bare-handed to handle an incendiary bomb. A heavy explosive bomb fell in the afternoon on a London square. Bombs elsewhere wrecked a number of houses and some people were killed or injured. In an East Anglian town bombs destroyed a Congregational church and damaged houses. The casualties included a woman who was killed when her house collapsed. Shoppers took cover as a raider skimmed the rooftops, machine-gunning the streets. A raider was brought down in the sea off Cornwall. Birmingham A.K.I*.

Birmingham is hastening its plans for meeting devastating raids and has 60,000 people enrolled for fighting fire bombs, including 27,000 in supplementary fire parties, 16,000 wardens, and 5000 watchers in premises. The Home Guard is arranging to picket areas where the danger is greatest. A hundred rest centres equipped with bedding and clothing are being established for the homeless. An A.R.P. committee is making arrangements so that at least 10,000 people will be able to get a hot meal in the event, of an emergency. The committee will also provide for the removal and storage of furniture from bombed homes. Five German airmen, after failing to bomb some children in a playground on the outskirts of London, were trapped in the blazing wreckage of their machine, which was apparently hit over London. The raiders bombed a third hospital and blew out some of the walls. A few of the patients and some of the staff were injured. The receiving wards were filled with persons injured by bombs, and the hospital carried on while the raiders droned overhead. A German communique claims that bombers yesterday hit the Mildenhall, Wattisbam, and Honnington aerodromes. destroying grounded planes, and set fire to a munition dump on an Army drill ground in south-east England. ■ The Germans claims to have shot down seven balloons yesterday. R.A.F. ATTACK DOCKS Unfavourable Weather LONDON, February 2. Last night a small force of Coastal Command aircraft attacked the docks at Brest. During yesterday, despite unfavourable weather, patrols were carried out. Two aircraft are missing from these operations. GIFTS TO AIR RAH) VICTIMS (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, January 31. The Minister of Health, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald, acknowledged with gratitude the gift of 100 blankets and 100 children’s sleeping bags for homeless poor of the bombed areas with sincere sympathy and admiration for the heroic stand from sympathizers in the citv and county of Cork. Further gifts from the Colonial Empire include another instalment of £9OOO by Nigeria, another £5OOO from the Gold Coast, £3OO from St. Vincent, in the Windward Islands, £l5OO front Barbadoes, and £3OOO from Trinidad. BANNED IN TUBES Circulation Of Pamphlets And News-sheets (Received February 2. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, February 1. The London Transport Board has banned the circulation of pamphlets and news-sheets in tube shelters. The “Evening Standard” understands that the chief reason is to prevent subversive propaganda. ■The number of applications for permission to circulate pamphlets has increased recently. Many stations have their own news-sheets for lhe information of shelterers.