THE LONDON RAID

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 27, 1 August 1917, Page 10

THE LONDON RAID

527 VICTIMS

FIFTEEN GERMAN AEROPLANES

OVER THE CITY i

SCHOOL AND TRAIN HIT.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 15th June.

Two days ago London had the nearest vision of modern warfare that it has yet /known. The Zeppelin raids came in the darkness and mystery of night. This time it was different. In the loveliness of a perfect summer's day, enemy aero : planes journeyed through the sky and passed over London. There suddenly, came in swift succession-several tremendous crashes, and later it was learned that 104 persons had been killed, and 423 injured. The figures are: Men 59 and 219; women 19 and 110, children 27 and 93. ' ■ -i .. :• ■ It was between l! 1.30 and 11.45 a.m. that the enemy raiders wero detected by the, defences. In a cloudless sky, and beneath a blazing sun, they were flying at an altitude of 18,000 ft/ and they looked: mere specks of flashing silver. Our guns; both of heavy and light calibre, opened fire. But, undisturbed, the raiders, keeping together, pursued a direct course towards East London. Apparently they kept together while on tho south side of the river, but parted company as soon as they crossed the Thames, each visiting a particular district One took a sweep westwards without drop- . ping bombs; another hovered over the centre of the city, a third devoted its "frigthfulness" to the. eastern boundary of the city, and a fourth swept into the heart of the East: End—all dealing death. and destruction. It was .about 11.35 that Fleet-street was" awakened out of its ordinary busy .life by several loud explosions.; People on the 'buses stood up at the unexpected alarm, and searched the skies. "Our '.guns at it again," someone remaked. But the general demeanour of the crowds suggested something else, and very soon it was evident that a raid was in progress. For all that, the life of the. city went on as usual, and, generally-speak-ing, there was a,n absence of panic. At certain points, thick towers of smoke roso up, and very soon fire-engines and ambulance cars were darting abouk. MURDER IN A SCHOOL. Terrible scenes were witnessed; at a large council school, where ten children were killed and fifty injured. This occurred just before noon, when the teachers were about to dismiss the children for dinner. The bomb fell squarely on the; roof, and exploded inside the I building. Children screamed and, faint-, ed, and the teachers struggled bravely to pacify the terrified little ones. One teacher was wounded, but the rest of the staff stuck to their duties, some rendering first, aid and others taking the uninjured children to a place of safety. The police and the ambulances were quickly on the scene. The school is situated in a poor quarter, and soon.the place was besieged by anxious mothers. Distressing scenes followed, for some of the mothers, when they heard the" news, became hysterical with' grief arid others hysterical iwith joy. Apart from the small hole in-the roof, tho fabric is absolutely undamaged.' .■''■■'. Mr. Will Crooks, the Poplar M.P., was within 100 yards ofthe ulace at the time. He threw himself immediately on the ground, and then, after ascertaining that his. wife was: safe, he did all he could to comfort the hundreds of mothers who flocked to the vicinity of the disaeter. Only one bomb actually struck tha school, but two- others fell within a few hundred yards of the building, the concussion of their explosion ■ ■/: adding greatly to the' damage. The caretaker, who is ,still suffering from shock; said that the first victim was. his own little ton, whose body was mutilated almost beyond recognition. His wife was prostrated with grief,, but the caretaker was bravely "carrying on." TRAIN WRECKED. One bomb fell on a railway station and hit an incoming train. Seven persons were killed and' seventeen injured here. Almost immediately the wrecked carriages caught fire, arid passengers, wreckage, and flames mingled together in _an appalling manner. Men were screaming and women were shrieking for help. In several cases ithey succeeded in extricating \tbemselves . from the burning carriages and ran down the platform with their clothes ablaze. Some soldiers on the platform showed,, the utmost coolness, and did their best in the work of rescue. All through the afternoon the work of clearing away the debris of the wrecked carriages was continued. Men were en gaged; on the glass roof of the station knocking! out broken glass, which constantly fell crashing oh the rails below. A porter, who was taking some luggage down the platform when . the bombs fell,-declared that the horror of the sight of the train 'Stoppling over" made him shake from heafl to foot. "I dropped the bag I was carrying," he added, "and I must have jumped many feet in the air.". " ■ A CENTRE OF DESTRUCTION. '• One of the biggest centres of destruction was a block'of flats five stories high, at the corner of a main thoroughfare. The lower,part of the'buildings is occupied as shops. The upper part was completely demolished. The remains'of a staircase were hanging amid, the wreck- 1 age, most of the walls Were blown out, and the building looked nothing but a confusion of lath and plaster; On one wall; which remained intact/ however, the pictures were hanging, as if nothing had happened. Mhe loss of life at this spot is believed to have been considerable. . One; man vouched; for the statement that at least six dead bodies had . been recovered, and . the search Was. still proceeding at night, conducted by the.police and Red Cross workers. Many more must have been ; injured. On the opposite side of the street another bomb fell through tho roof of another block of buildings, but: most of the damage was confined to the top floors. The raid can be timed, from the fact that a clock on a church was stopped by the concussion at 11.40 a.m. OTHER INCIDENTS. ; Three bombs were dropped within 100 yards in a crowded industrial district in the city. Two were apparently incendiary and the other was of the: ordinary explosive kind. - The first fell on a five-storied building. Considerable damage was caused by the explosion to the two upper stories, and the win,dows in lihe neighbourhood were completely wrecked. A horse was killed and its van overturned. Another bomb dropped, on a four-storied warehouse, and in a few seconds the top floori was' blazing. The third played havoc with the tiles on some small houses, but it did not set them on fire. In a narrow street occupied by warehouses, adjoining one of the most frequented thoroughfares in the city, a. • high building in whidh a firm of printers was situated was struck. Bombs fell through the room, and the upper stones were immediately in, flames. ' Fortunately, there wae no 'loss of life, as the employees, alarmed by the. .first reports, betook themselves to places of safety. Next to . the building is a Roman Catholic school,- in which the children at the time of the rtid were &t their leuon*. ' Although ths lehoolreom it in th*

closest contiguity to the printing house, it.remained untouched. At ; the first sign of danger all the children within a few seconds had been^marched to the basement. .

. In the East End four bombs fell within an area of 300 yds. The first failed to explode, and the second fell just off tho roadway outside a fire station, shattering windows in every direction. The plate-glass -windows of a bank,. were wrecked., and the walls wero pockmarked. Outside these premises a dray was destroyed as it stood, the horse being killed and the driver seriously. injured. The third bomb set alight a warehouse in a well-known thoroug-hfare, and a large dstachment of the London Fire Brigade, with escapes, was engaged in subduing an obstinate outbreak of fire. This road hardly possesses a whole window, and the upheaval of the roadway oonscquent on the explosion caused the traffic to be held up and diverted. The fourth bomb fell on some model dwellings, but a small fire which broke out was soon quelled.. •.'.-'■ JUDICIAL CALM.. >,; Both the King and Queen visited tho East End immediately they heard of the outrage, and called at the London and I St. Bartholomew's Hospitals. I At the Law Courts, Mr. Justice Darling continued' sitting, remarking that they were all as safe there as anywhere else. . ■. ■■■'....'. ■■ ■-. ■ ■ .-.-■ At one London County Court the Judge was giving a decision when the firs£ sounds were heard. The booming grew in. intensity, until eventually .it sounded a« if one must have dropped in the precincts of the Court. The Judge never hesitated, and. in a steady and clear voice went on: "In this contract plaintiffs have undertaken certain obligations—(Boom)—which they contend liave. been carried out. (Boom.) Defendants have set up what I think ie a bone fide defence." (Boom.) The.explosions were too much for. several women, who screamed in Court. The Judge ■remained quite calm, and 1 remarked: ."I* hope people will be quiet. If they cannot they had better, leave, the Court." Another boom, louder than ever, followed, and the women shrieked again, but the Judge went on' ■ and finished his judgment. ■ '..,'•■ ; •■ /'■