MOONL/dHT ,^E*V RAID OVER ■ :LWIOON."

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14439, 27 October 1917, Page 4

MOONLIGHT ENEMY RAID OVER LONOON.

PLANES FILLEO AIR WITH GRBAP V roar, . , ; L/ONBON, Sept. 5. It was close on midnight. I f had just .finished correcting, ' r the . la^t page o,f a, featth of .typescript, (writes a specidl co'r'responqent).; I heard .the .sound of, drataht guiis "Boom ! Boom ! Bop.m !" ",' Itt -London ..jtbere .. are , only , t two explanations^ for giui firing, practice or air .^raids, we clo not,,have practice jusjt on 'midnight. 1 went to a temporary^ invalid confined to bed upstairs. "Faring,'? she. said cheerfully. "If you had 'not been so absorbed m your work you would, have noticed it an hour ago. Thetfe it is again!" ''Boom!" I telephoned to the office of-a morii-; in f paper, to sei\d .nip a boy for my 'i^Pjr-' .Jt was, oil ready for tWem. "We .hja^l,, .better not, send x boy cixt yet," (^apfie' ; j^. ; voice over .the phone. "We are. exgectipg aja ajr i^id. ..■> The eomps; have ib,e^n hroßght /dowafistairs.'. They will. copie ,iip as soon as it's 1 all clear." • i Up on the high, flat roof of riiy home .there little to, be seen. Tt was a glojious eiarly autumn night. ' ,;,^ie, t»aTvest...moon lit up the pano^ xajna of i London roofs and £pires an^ i**[Jff rs -/5 After ;dii interval a* solitary f'cMipht shot out and swept the skies: m **fe? f»r distaiice' there came 'again sound of the guns. f • ■','- 150 OK IT bAIiMLY. •: ' There ixtrerei few; people m the street below. ACpst knew that a raid Vas afoot; .and had taken shelter. A neigTiboi* wa^ «d;hniqg , his ; uniform to' go forth 6n dutV;,^ an inspector of; special coiijßtabulary. A soldier-— <>ddly endii^lii' a Canadian soldiers-wandering .thrpugb th© stilts stdppe'a for "a %&. inenfc and, di^cusged tfie*sitiiati6h:' Wjiat woiild happen'? ; " : ; ' ." ' " .: !,,,2Chen it? 'came. 'First tJieWwas a 1^ purring . tliftll m. ;the „Tliis gVQW; «nd- grewrrapidly .till it, seemed to fill, the ■ erftire heaven's with' one'^reat thiv>b,bing -Toar. : Vj have" heard' the 'noise of aeroplanos before many a time. Illia^e; seen them m their 'great squadrons >dp-! baltle on mb;re than "one fijo'nt! never- Wave"'l -'heard' noise such as this. It seemed to. on.e, as though ifc w.ere. the advancing neraids ( ..pf the Angrel ofi Death, shouting "their warnintj through, the sky to .prepare .for the^ast dread messenger, for niprelihan pnei pqpr soul bn this night the "thrill pfi • the throbbino' planes was ftr^th warnin'p of . the pale summoner's Naming, •. '. ;Andfttb> t theffinisb^an. A haze had suddenly sprung up that shut .the «Wen»y ,, planes J[r<im view,. , /Here and +^re we .couli? catch, glints of l^htv ,irT the .sfcy. ,., ,^hat they? ••^hrapnel burs^'ng or aerial kiombats 4iettreen pur planes and theiri,pw:n. i/Np' one omild say. .Noyr'-pame..tremendousf'ex-plpsibns. of .bxirstine homjis, one after tli^ otliPiv ea/?h louder than title ; ls>«t; t-ellinar that the enemy were, coming nearer. And then they became fainter again. They had nas«ed. pjrer us. NIGHT OF TBRfeOR.

There was aypau/je. f!he streets were still almost deserted. Now we heard a lire engine sweep by. Now an ambuloiico came Valong. A soldier declai-ed that lWyhad seen . one burst of Jight ; tp the westC Another said" that -Jhe had «een^ one to thenoi-th. wen-e talking the sounds of explosions he^an a£a|ri.; The <3ot3is had come back; again: W^'cdulfr'see.in the, heavens a number of-. Rearch lights cpneenti-ated together on-one^spot. d?he beams moved steadily; onwards till they seemed right over our heads. Again came tine loud .explosions. "There it is^cried one of our little : jj&rty. ."'.pan't you see .. til" : : -'A: .ni^ .directed, me to -.th©, scene -ot the iiearest. 'explosion. „ Although the bounds had ' seemed, ? ip. , pear, . the ; nearest bomb had .; fallen some .distance from Where 4 stood.. It had alighlted on a" bi| drapery house, *a houser empty at iiightl .^p^Bite,to this- buUdiny; was a k»S: J^otel. "~.,A ijittle. crowd of people 1 were standing , outsider iti. Ihere •_, were men i* 1 : f t^Wi^---^? 8 ?^ en n pyjamas, dressing gow^s and .carpet slippers.

> , v if ( <isO HYSTERICJS. , 'There vfer« ladies in ' showy gowns. .There -werei others' whto had jumped out pf^bedy (dad themselves in' dainty wrap : pers t and 'hurried into the' street. One ,lady clutched, a litile leather bag In.^her. bahd, It .wad her jewel case.. There was 3M\ dne crying, 310 hysterics and i^b emotional sieries. \'- ' , . t "J think this is really funny," said a young ofiicer to me, pointing, out # hig notice 'on the walls of the . builcjing which .-< the bomb had struck, r , TJie notice read, "Thlis building will be demolished shortly to make room ,for the ne# exp^sion of. our -preilu'ses.'^'JFritz lias saved them the trouble of pulling down their own place, hasen't he?" said theofficer. „ , i~.' : ' A little further along another bomb had fallen, fallen right, m,, the middle of ' the .pppos^ ■ . a , , hospital. It was evidently charged'with very .powerful explosive, fo^' ijh'©' window v ein one side of > the hospital'ha'd' noit merely «Ji \ts «lass blown out, but haij the' wlndc-Ay Jj'a;mea twisted into ; f antastib Oil the opposite sid.e, of t¥e i^ad the destruction of glass was enormous, and more than glass had ... been destroyed.". "CANADIANS KILLED.

iVo Canadian sojdiers, Sergt. B. G. Lttmley and P'te; A. E, Bond, m the front room of ! tlie .ground floor of a Svere killed. A^liss I>unleary;' alis(j I( ,in the .■ hote),. was- killed. Lumlej was- sitting mi -a chair when he 'died, j'.". Tliey cawied his body out still, on the.,chair>.< A man and woman were killed m a, hotel nearby. Some of the patients ,i|f the hospital were hurt with the falling glass and with the concussion, but none aeripusly., . 'Still furthiei'V ofown a bomb came on a fY.>D..(>. JL TJj> to a few: weeks ago this S^as "used aS,,a,..3leepipg place for men; at : night. , Recently this was.,•distohtittued,rand the only people, in it were thfee'of the staff, who escaped tunn3 U $5?' *■■•<■■■■ -'-•. ■..-.••.•;.;-'■..•; ' 'v .-.;'->. <■ yne bomb struck a roadway and dam-. agipd a public I vehicle. •I'lie driver was (severely lnjuKeq , 1"8 legs ; .being practiean^blown off and .broken jn two places. Despite . his\ jFdunds ' -he jammed > ; the brakes tightly before he died. Two passengers inside stbo .tram , were killed- In a pppr working-class district four bombs fel|'- together aqd; damaged Bome\houße3 and jrt'ound^d.q.uite.a number of pfebple.' It. yrjiß Jiev^llyai we gpt--the major part of our casualties, which amounted m all to 11 kiPed and J& wounded. Several felL.in,pubUc,,gai;denß and 'did no harm.

,■.:..-■ WPTJODRIVIBN <MAD. r X!lierei wei*e^some pathetic and some giatescjue scenes. Five fat old women w.e.!jt Hiyto thff lift of ah. underground Railway. ■..*:. They' sat down on the floor and" -refused >sto budge. They remained jth'ero.; all •night, nodding, scarcely able tbj*keep then- eyes ■open/ looking lifilf patjietic, .half- comical, '■■ifost Londoners #»#, sound of trouble went fo their ", 'basemen ts -and ;" reniained thereThe. pftMift' is learning tliaf it is : «9t wise 'to '«tay iii the open when bombs av«i.( dropping. / ■ -. .': . ; I> know, '• one poor man— a pane,, .by the way-^whose wife h,as. been driven jnad*V >' ' 'She 'will ; not live many , 'days Joiiger, the doctors' say. Brave work, isn't it, to make a feeble woman of 60 insane? .

IJ. turned back home. .As I appi'oached my door I saw a monster motor Btandiug-!outsidc. It was one of the..pig .d^iyeity^Vaiv^ from a inorning newspaper pfjScp'tT .^They -nvere. wanting my "coi3y" tjiat 'J^was xfinishing <jufetf' before the rai^ 1 . began, vlt»,was;iiotsaf eleven nowto.se^d fl.'i»<>y through ine'fetreetl aloue, tjiad • i:uslied * a delivery vaij tip for itvv Raid'or^hb rdid^ w^rfc must «o ,jiii..'.'i,;.i/ind '&? the boy-'ckij|ed tlfe enyejppe yin rhis pocket. and^' the njotpr jdFtvct? sjjfcedcd badk'. iKrou&h where the bombs might soon^odme a^in, it^^eeine.d a. living I ' v-illu^tra^ion' -of the fact; that the full life of London was contrihuing, with scarjfly a<* pittse.' Fritz ■i^aydpne 1 1# worst, and nW-We C9ijld resume the^Toutfrte' of ' our affairs agai'ft.