Port Of London Protected Against Air Attacks

Northern Advocate, 31 July 1939, Page 7

Port Of London Protected Against Air Attacks

LONDON, July 29,

A carefully-prepared scheme of conTul and protection for the Port of London, in the event of war. has, it is confidently declared, put the port into a state in which in all circumstances its business can be carried on. The Pert of London Authority has devoted special attention to the safety of the men working in the docks system, and has allocated £250,000 for their protection in air raids. All vital points have been protected, and over 3J miles of trenches are available for refuge from blast and 1 splinters. More than 30,000 workers are being safeguarded in the authority’s own dock area, while the owners of wharves and warehouses for 30 or 40 miles on each side of the Thames have arranged for similar protection for their own staffs.

Moorings have been placed for about 78 trips in the lower reaches of the Thames. Small craft concerns, with some 10,000 barges and tugs capable of handling one million tons of cargo, have been organised into a pool, and should any single dock system be put out of action all these resources would be placed at the service of the poi’t. Arrangements have also been made for evacuating essential foodstuffs and dangerous goods.

Meteor Shower.—Astronomers anticipate the possibility of a meteor shower occurring next Thursday, when the earth will pass close to the orbit of comet Jurlof-Achmarof-Hassel. which was recently visible in the Northern Hemisphere, states a report from Wellington.