MANY CIVILIAN CASUALTIES CAUSED BY AIR RAID.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16550, 28 May 1917, Page 5

MANY CIVILIAN CASUALTIES CAUSED BY AIR RAID.

SIXTEEN AEROPLANES BOMB SOUTH-EAST OF ENGLAND SEVENTY-SIX PERSONS KILLED AND 174 INJURED. THREE OF THE RAIDERS BROUGHT DOWN OFF DUNKIRK. Australian and N.Z. Cable. (E«c«ited 5.5 p.m. LONDON. Mcy .'6. A squadron of enemy aeroplai.es, numbering about 16. attacked the south-east of England between 5-15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. yesterday. Bombs were dropped on a number of places, but nearly all the damage occurred in one town, where the bombs fell in the streets. Here then* was a considerable number of civilian casualties, and shop? and houses were seriously damaged. Seventy-six persons were killed including 27 women and 23 children—and 174 injured—including 10 w, men and 19 children. British aeroplanes pursued the raider?, and naval aeroplanes from Dunkirk engaged them when they were returning to then base. The Admiralty reports that three enemy aeroplanes were brought down. No other air raid on Britain has produced so main rasualtir* as. this '■'■• Six or seven Zeppelins on January 31, 1916, killed 67 persons and injured 117, and in October of 1915 Zeppelins killed 60 people and injured 115 in London and the Eastern Counties. The Secretary of State for Home Affairs gave the casualties in air raids up to May 29, la«t year, as 409 killed and 1005 injured. The following is a list of aeroplane raids on England :— 1914. December 25: Aeroplane over Sheerness. No damage. December 26: Aeroplane over Thames. No damage 1915. .January 19: Aeroplane over Yarmouth. Four killed. 1 wounded. February 21: Aeroplane over Essex. Trivial damage February 25: Aeroplane over East Coast. April 16: Aeroplane, over Kent. No damage. May 3: Aeroplane over Dover. No damage. July 5: Aeroplane and seaplane over Harwich. No damage. September 13: Aeroplanes over Kent. Seven wounded. 1916. January 23: Aeroplane drops bombs on Kent by moonlight. One led. 6 injured. January 23: Two aeroplanes drop bomb: in Kent. No damage January 25 : One aeroplane over Dover. No damage. February 9: Two seaplanes made raid on Kent. Three injured February 20: Six aeroplanes raid Suffolk and Kent. One killed. 1 injured March 1: One seaplane over Kent. One killed. March 19: Four seaplanes over East Kent. Fourteen killed. 27 injured April 24: One aeroplane over Dover. No damage. May i: One aeroplane over Deal. Six bomb? on station, and hou-es damaged. TVee injured. May 20: Three seaplanes over Kent. One killed. 2 injuied. Verv flight damage. July 9: Two seaplanes made raid on Kent. Windows broken. August 12: Two seaplanes over Dover. Seven soldier? injured September 22: One seaplane near Dover. No damage. October 22: One seaplane over Sheerness (raider destrov»d at sea . Very slight damage to railway. October 23: One seaplane'over Margate. Slight damage. Two injured, November 28: Seaplane over London. 1917. May 25: Sixteen aeroplanes over South-east Coast. Seventy-six killed, 174 injured.