BOMBING OF LONDON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16673, 18 October 1917, Page 6

BOMBING OF LONDON.

P< TERRIFYING SPEOTACLE.

BHRAPNEL „ AND FLARE SHELLS.

p; ' LONDON, Oct. 1. •'The bombardment of-the raiders during the last air attack on London provided .'.-"'•■ a ':■■■ magnificent "• and terrifying spectacle. ."' Bursts of shrapnel and flare-shells made thousands of. savage lights. Great quan- . tities of shrapnel descended on buildings, ...'. and one. piece broke Mr. Fisher's window .'■-.--at Australia House. British aeroplanes darted amid the shell- : r fag, sometimes showing electric lights. The ■ i '}'■ conditions made an unparalleled call on ' -'■' the courage and. skill of-the airmen. The : : ' bombs were widely scattered, indicating ■: :three separate attacks, .but, few of .; the raiders succeeded in reaching the metro- ; polis. The casualties prove the folly of remaining outdoors. ■ Many watched the •'■>■ raids from: the top'of buses. Most of the < casualties^ occurred in the; streets.: Some - theatrical >'performances, stopped, and the V people in the gallery were, invited .to the . shelter of the pita. The Dug-out in the Garden. Most of the households and offices now '- . have organised shelters. / Some ami lies go t into cellars, and the ground floors of some v ( " offices are ; protected by sandbags, dome : 'i" houses have dug-outs in the gardens. Lon- :•' don is gradually accommodating i-self, and :'■ it should soon "be possible for everyone to 1:• have shelter, except from a direct hit. la • several houses which were hit by bombs on Monday nobody 'was injured. Sleepr - ing ■ children : were found on , the ;- ground floor of a thr>»storey building on which

; bombs fell. ' . The signal "ail -clear" .was given in '':■ London at 10 o'clock/but it was not given in Lincolnshire' until 4.40; o'clock in the -i morning. V : Searchlights and flares failed to ?■■'■■ locate the; aeroplanes, but v the necidiar pulling sound of the GothasS was heard at a low altitude. ; ' , ■ The Daily Mail said that the happiest ■ . people' were those who took refuge in the tubes." At the first alarm whole ; families - camped •on ~i the platforms, knowing thai ; : :" ; the bombs r could r not reach them. Children lay on i ruga and mats, while their elders W sang popular sorts' with rollicking choruses. Many young people performed step-dances. ' Districts .That Escaped.,

'■■■'■■'■■■'■'■ A' telegram from 'an Essex coast town - Bays : that ■:' gunfire : and the droning aero- • planes, which were obviously numerous, * were heard there for an hour and a-half after 7.30 o'clock in the evening, but no bombs were dropped there, though \ three ?/\ terrific explosions were heard in .the direc- ■} tion of London,''->'•■ ' , ■ *. ■> Keports from an inland Essex town say ■ : that " apparently • three enemy squadrons •■-; passed over the district at intervals of 20 minutes—one went.to the northwards, one to the southwards, and.the third over the » town. All \ seemed •to converge some - disM tance to the westward, and returned from, London the same my, judging by thu ' continuity of the'gunfire.-■ '-■■' The raiders v principally used aerial tor- '• ' pedoes, which had a horizontal scattering effect. '; ;: Several ; fell ■-■ in '' graveyards. One V; ■;. crashed near. 7 a workhouse, I injuring two lix women. , '

;-yr There were 'incidents reminiscent of the ": battlefield.', A youth who was making his way homewards ' wis advised to take shelter , from the shranneb He insisted on jroine to the top of a huildine to rescue his helpless father. A bomb killed both of them. \

f> 'Bus conductresses were conspicuously heroic. The diners at most of the restau- : rants sought shelter ■in basements. h Wilde, the champion ;. flyweight : ';boxer, had the narrowest escape. He was stand-

,' ing at,the door of a IW.el and a bomb fell » on to the roadway." He wajs blown down : i : ; the passage. ; A'-' friend who , was standing ■' at his side . was, severely , injured. Two -,_ women were killed. ■