LIVERPOOL’S WORST RAID

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 November 1940, Page 7

LIVERPOOL’S WORST RAID

HEAVY DAMAGE REPORTED .QUIET NIGHT IN LONDON (BY CABLE. —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.) LONDON, November 29. Incendiary, high explosive, and oil bombs were dropped on Liverpool. The raid was the heaviest during a night in which enemy aircraft were over many parts of the country. It lasted for several hours. The principal damage,was to house property. Several fires were caused, some of them serious, but all were brought under control. . • The attack on Liverpool .was the severest > and the. longest which, that city has experienced. Though many of the raiders were blasted back by the biggest barrage which the Merseyside has yet put up, they dropped explosive, bombs, oil-bombs and 'incendiary bombs. 'Fires were caused which damaged chiefly houses and flats. . The casualties were not heavy. They included some deaths. Bombs burst near a . public shelter. Some of those within were injured. Two other towns in the Merseyside area were attacked. In some cases the attacks were made by planes, which found the barrage too heavy elsewhere. The windows of hotels, shops and cinemas were blown out. ■ The roof of a Catholic church was damaged. An A.F.S. man was killed. Nine were injured.

From all parts of the country come reports of the very heavy barrage which kept the raiders at a great height. London has a comparatively quiet night, and the all-clear was sounded several hours before dawn. Penzance was Kombed.

SOUTH WEST TOWNS RUGBY, November 29. A communique states: Later reports of last night’s attack on Britain by enemy aircraft, while confirming the widespread nature of the raids, show that in two towns on the south-west, the damage to residential property was somewhat more extensive than at first indicated, but the casualties were not many although these include a small number of persons killed.

GERMAN LONG-RANGE BOMBER

(Received November 30, 11.15 a.m.) LONDON, November 29. The Merseyside raid is now described as the worst in the region throughout the war. The casualties were remarkably small in view of the magnitude and duration of the attack. Wave after wave came from the Irish Sea, and used very heavy calibre. bombs. Many people were rendered homeless. Hardly a window is left in countless streets. Cinemas, police stations, shelters, and banks were- among the damaged buildings. It is estimated that between 200 and 300 planes crossed the coast from aerodromes in northern France and Belgium, last night, and circled the outskirts of London before heading north. This involved between 1200 and 1400 miles return journey, necessitating the use of long-range heavy bombers, which dropped bombs at Liverpool quickly, amid a hail of shells, after which they returned to their base at top speed. By the light of hurricane lamps, rescue squads worked feverishly most of the night to extricate a number of patients buried when bombs hit a hospital in the north-west of England. Those dug out were carried to a neighbouring town, which was also subjected to a severe raid. Tunnelling continues. Doctors and nurses remain at the head of each party of burrowers to give injections to the injured. Eight pulled out this morning included a male patient, whose death had been awaited daily before the bombing. Rescuers located him by the sound of his vociferous curses on Hitler. A large area of south-eastern England is being combed for the crew of a German plane shot down at Godstone, yesterday. Villagers and air-raid wardens are helping to beat the fields and healthlands. Farmers and others are alert, in view of the likelihood of the missing men being soon obliged to seek food. DAYLIGHT RAIDS. enemy loses two planes. RUGBY, November 29. Five enemy aircraft were shot down to-day in attacks on Britain. This damage to the Luftwaffe was inflicted, as on several previous days recently, without any loss of personnel by the R.A.F. Two British fighters were destroyed, but.-both pilots are safe It is now known, however, that a further R.A.F. fighter was lost in yesterday’s • engagements, bringing the British losses to seven aircraft against five German planes destroyed. The pilot of the British aircraft, whose loss is now announced, was seivccL In to-day’s daylight raids, according to the communique, several small forces of enemy aircraft crossed the south-east coast. A few bombs are reported, mainly in South London. There was little damage and few casualties.

R.A.F. RAIDS. RUGBY, November 29. An Air Ministry communique describes last night’s raids by the R.A.F. on goods yards, naval armament factories, and gas works in. the Dusseldorf and Mannheim areas as well as naval shipbuilding yards at Stettin, and other military objectives. It announces that two British aircraft are missing.

BALTIC PORT FIRES. RUGBY, November 29. British bombers again proved their ability to raid industrial centres deep in Germany. Last night they renewed the attack of Politz, near Stettin on the Baltic, which six weeks ago was the object of a heavy and remarkably successful raid. Bombs dropped by the first, aircraft.—which was making a round trip of 1300 miles —started immediate fires, followed by a brilliant explosion and white flash among the. buildings. Other bombers then weighed in, one observer reporting at least 12 big. fires. . • GERMAN VERSION. ■. ■' ■ p . . LONDON, November 29. A German communique says: Several British planes dropped bombs

in Northern-western Germany. Some houses were damaged and a reserve military hospital was struck. • % i GENEROUS GIFTS. ■ RUGBY, November 29. British men and women in all parts of the world continue to send generous contributions towards the purchase of aircraft for the R.A.F. . -A gift of £25,00.0 from the British coirimunity. of Argentine . was acknowledged by Lord Beaverbrook to-day. He also received £lO,OOO from the British community in China, £12,000 " from the people in Tanganyika . territory, and £5OO0 —for replacement of aircraft already supplied—from people in Cape Town.