SCATTERED RAIDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23817, 19 November 1940, Page 7

SCATTERED RAIDS

SOUTH OF ENGLAND PLIGHT OF COVENTRY DEATH ROLL REACHES 250 By Telegraph—Press •Association—Copyright (Received November 18, 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 18 Bombs were dropped near the south coast of England last night, and there were scattered incidents in other parts, states the Air Ministry. The damage was practically confined to private houses, and casualties were not heavy. A bomb hit a shelter in London, killing five people. In a recent raid on London a German bomb struck the Drury Lane Theatre. The bomb went through the roof, the gallery, the two circles and exploded in the pit. A British Broadcasting Corporation observer said that no one was killed, and not one of the treasures of the famous theatre was damaged. "On the whole it was a pretty poor bag for a big bomb," he added. Coventry still toiled to-day to regain order out of chaos. So far 200 dead have been recovered. A leading member of the aircraft industry said that, while it would be wrong to describe the damage to the industry at Coventry as negligible, interference with production would not be large, and the output should be practically normal shortly as far as armament work was concerned. Buildings destroyed in addition to the Cathedral and the, Old Palace Yard include the baths, a library, two churches, five cinemas, two large hotels, a newspaper office and seven stores. The regional commissioner said the municipal authorities and the population had taken up the work of restoring normality speedily. The Minister of Home Security, Mr. Herbert Morrison, said: "I am proud of the w.if the corporation has behaved. It is a great tribute to the fine spirit of British local government." GRAF SPEE RUSE AMMUNITION HIDDEN COFFINS OF VICTIMS DISCOVERY IN URUGUAY CAPETOWN, Nov. 17 Coffins which were supposed to contain the bodies of men killed in action in the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spec were found to be filled with guns and ammunition, carefully wrapped in waterproof cloth. The coffins were landed from the Graf Spee at Montevideo, and with solemn ceremony were buried in a common grave. The deception was discovered when the body of a German sailor, who was supposed to have been buried, was washed ashore. These details of German intrigue were disclosed by a Capetown resident who returned to South Africa to enlist after nine years in South America. The discovery enabled a plot to overthrow the Government of Uruguay to be foiled. .Many Nazis who have filtered into the country and are occupying farms on strategic hilltops were arrested and interned. Other plans for uprisings in Patagonia and Brazil were subsequently discovered.