GERMAN RAID ON MIDLANDS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 198, 19 May 1941, Page 7

GERMAN RAID ON MIDLANDS

Damage To Property CASUALTIES THOUGHT LIGHT

(British Official Wireless and Press Assn.)

(Received May 18, 7.25 p.m.)

LONDON, May 17.

German raiders concentrated their main attack last night on. a town in the west Midlands, stated by Germany to be Birmingham. Severe damage was done to property, though casualties arc believed to be light. The Luftwaffe also attacked an East Midlands town and a southern England area. ' Two bombers were brought down. ■ A public shelter was directly hit in a west Midlands district, resulting in a number of casualties. Explosives fell over a wide area in an East Anglian town, destroying or damaging the homes of workers, many of whom refused to quit while one room was habitable. There were a number of casualties. A German news agency states that more than 100 planes bombed industrial works rind utility .services in Birmingham for three hours. Four of the biggest bombs dropped in Barrow-in-Furness must have caused tremendous havoc, it says. Other bombers attacked a number of aerodromes by day and night. An Air Ministry and Ministry of Home Security communique states: “During the day there has been a certain amount of enemy activity off the east coast. Small formations of enemy aircraft crossed the coast, but have not flown insland. To 7.30 p.m. there were no reports of bombs having been dropped. Another enemy fighter was destroyed by anti-aircraft gunfire yesterday afternoon. A third enemy bomber was destroyed last night.” It was later reported that an enemy fighter was destroyed off the south coast by British fighters. \

Friday’s Raids.

The Air Ministry states that a number of German aircraft crossed the south-east coast on Friday afternoon but were promptly driven back by strong formations of fighters. Seven enemy fighters were destroyed, five by R.A.F. fighters and two by anti-aircraft fire. One British fighter is missing, but the pilot is safe. No bombs were dropped. The day was described as it day of dogfights, some of them at 30,000 feet. Other times, Messerschmitts bent on hit-and-run machine-gun attacks came down as low as 500 feet, but soon found the fround defences too hot, and flew out to sea. No casualties htrve been reported. The Roman Catholic Hospital for the Poor, which was built in Lambeth Road after years of labour to raise the necessary funds, was razed in a recent air raid within a month of its opening.

Bombs killed the mother superior and two senior sisters while they were dealing with incendiaries. The surviving sisters are living in au unheated basement under the ruins.

Repairs to Westminster.

The usual services will be belli in Westminster in the nave on Sunday, when most of the debris will have been cleared. The Dean said: "We are not going to be blasted from worship by Hitler.”

Offers to assist iu repairing the effect of the destruction at Westminster during the recent raids come from Oxford and Australia. The Oxford Union Society has decided to offer the Speaker of the House of Commons its dispatch boxes to replace those destroyed. The Oxford boxes were used by Gladstone and Peel when they went to Oxford. They are facsimiles of those which were in the House of Commons. In connexion with the offer of beams

of Australian hardwood to help repair the roof of Westminster Hall, it is stated that, though the actual work cannot. be undertaken till the end of the war, an earlier start will be made on fashioning the limbers if the offer is accepted. The Rev. Mr. Perkins, who has been Sacrist at Westminster Abbey since 1899, estimates the cost of repairing the latest damage to the Abbey at £lOO,OOO and the total cost of restoration for damage since September at. £135,000. Air Commodore lluskinson, designer of Britain’s new powerful bombs, whose eyes were injured by bomb blast in a recent London raid, will recover Ills sight. Fighting Fires.

Mr. Herbert Morrison., Minister of Home Security, broadcast on Friday night urging -10,1(00,000 people io fight the "Battle of the Flames." This, he said, was the biggest job on the home front. It was total war. and the entire population was needed to wage it. He warned his hearers it was no use arguing about rights or wrongs while bombs were falling. Firebomb lighting was a national service wherever the bombs were falling. It was a fine tiling to guard one’s own home, but if a party of neighbours were guarding it, it was just as lino a thing to guard some oilier homo. office, shop, or factory. Mr. Morrison went, on to say that experienced lire chiefs had told him that the work of their ’brigades had 'been enormously eased because so 'many tiros | never got'really started.

COLOGNE BOMBED AGAIN ! Little Activity Over Britain LONDON, -May 1.8. Last night for the second night in succession. R.A.F. aircraft heavily bombed industrial targets in Cologne. Enemy’ activity’ over this country was mi a small scale. Bombs were dropped at one or two points in the east ol England and caused little damage. In mm area there wore some casualties. CIVI LI A N CASU A LT lES Air Raids In April j . Brilish i itlii-inl Wireless ' . Received May 18. 7 p.m. ' RUGBY. May 17. The .Ministry of .Home Security has announced the following figures for civilian casualties during air raids on the United Kingdom in April: Killed, G 065; comprising, inen 2912, women 2418. I'hildren under 16 680. unclassified 55. Injured and detained in hospital. 61)26: comprising, men 3656. wo-, men 2718. children under 16. 519. ini addilioii 61 are missing ami believed killed, of whom -IS are men. six women. • and seven children.