BOMB DAMAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24627, 7 June 1941, Page 10

BOMB DAMAGE

VICTORIA LEAGUE; SERVICE CLUB WJREGKEI) NEW ZEALANDERS KILLED (0.C.) LONDON. Apl, 24. '■"% The King George and Queen Elizabeth Club for- men of the dominion • forces, a branch of the Victoria League, received two direct hits during the. big raid of April: One of the most popular service hostels, there were some 200 men from all the dominions staying there for the night including, some 40 New Zealanders. There were many casualties. Four New Zealanders : were killed, and a number taken to hospital, one or two seriously injured. Among those killed'' was.. .Miss. Gertrude Drayton, the secretary of the Victoria League, who .'was well known in the Dominion. Hei body was recovered from the ruins three days later. The Dead and Injured The New Zealanders killed were:— Sergeants R. L. Robinson and M. D. Simonsen, R.N.Z.A.F.; Able-seaman J. N.- Murphy, R.N.V.R.. (N.Z.), and Leading Airman K. N. Campbell, Fleet Air Arm.

The injured included:—Able-seamen J Brent (Dunedin), M.Thurlow. R. L. Campbell and R. A. C. Cheyne; Acting Leading Airmen V. H. Hatchard and L. J. Pickard, and Private J. D. Wright. Leading Airman Campbell was a nephew of Dr R. M. Campbell, official secretary to the High Commissioner. They had met for lunch on the previous day, and Dr Campbell had invited his nephew to spent the night with him at his home at Highgate. As the airman, however, had to catch an early train the following morning, he was unable to accept the invitation Thrown from Their Beds The hostel was hit some time after midnight, when the raid had been in progress for about five hours. Several of the men were in their beds, and others were in the basement. The force of the explosion was so great that many were thrown out of their .beds through the windows to the court below. Floors were torn away, and a number of men fell some distance through the' crater. One of these was R. L. Campbell, who dropped two floors. For the remainder of the night and into the early hours of the morning men searched frantically for their friends among the rums, and a number of the injured were removed to the Ministry of Information, near by. Several days passed before it was possible to discover the total number of killed and injured The records of the men staying for the night were burned during the fire which followed the explosion, and there was no means of knowing exactly how manv had been in the hostel. Meeting With the Queen The building will have to be completely demolished. It will be a great loss to the men of the forces. Several New Zealanders tfad the opportunity of meeting the Queen there last summer, and, with men from all parts of the Empire, had their photograph taken with her in the courtyard which became the death bed of man> who were hurled through the windows ' Several New Zealand airmen met the Governor-General. Sir Cyril Newall at the hostel shortly before he sailed for New Zealand. The room in which he chatted and was photographed with them was completely wrecked. Another building which was damaged was the Royal Empire Society, in Northumberland avenue, well known to hundreds of New Zealanders who have visited London It was declared open by the King when he was Duke of York, and it contained presentations from all parts of the Empire. Part of the Overseas League buildings also suffered severe damage.