HOSPITAL HIT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21384, 20 April 1944, Page 3

HOSPITAL HIT

NAZI RAID ON LONDON MANY PATIENTS TRAPPED 13 PLANES~SHQT DOWN (10 a.m.) LONDON, April 19. Thirteen German planes were destroyed in a raid after midnight on London and East Anglia. Five bombs straddled the main buildings of a London hospital in which were 2000 patients. One ward was demolished, trapping many patients. A fierce fire broke out, badly damaging five wards. Two others were damaged by blast. So far it is known that four members of the staff and seven patients were killed The hospital’s air raid precaution workers, assisted by doctors, nurses, attendants, police and rescue squads were mobilised for the grim task of extricating those trapped, many of whom were rescued, some being badly injured. The police declared that the nurses were the real heroines. Some, although injured, worked pluckily to get the patients out. The search for patients is still going on while crowds of anxious relatives wait at the gates of the hospital. Ten persons were killed when high explosives fell in a London working class area. One raider which was shot down crashed on a house, demolishing it. Several persons are believed to be trapped under the debris. Damage to buildings was reported at several other points. The Press Association’s aviation correspondent says the enemy operated on a much larger scale than recently.