SMALLER SCALE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21784, 14 October 1940, Page 7

SMALLER SCALE

Air Attacks On Britain Little Damage And Few Casualties British Official Wireless (Received October 13, 6.30 p.m.) RUGBY, Cctober 12. The morning communique issued by the Air Ministry and the Ministry of Home Security states: “Enemy air attacks on Britain continued during the first half of last night but since then activity has been negligible. “The attacks were mainly directed against the London area but bombs were also dropped on many places in south and south-east England, at a few points in Wales and Scotland and in the north-west. In the London area the bombing was widespread and damage was done to a number of houses and shops. In one district a number of people travelling by omnibus was killed and injured. There were some casualties in other parts of the London area. Bombs were dropped on Merseyside. Some damage was done in each of these attacks but the number of casualties was small. Elsewhere in Britain bombs fell on a number of widely scattered areas but the damage was slight and the casualties were very small. A later communique states that only a few of a number of enemy aircraft which crossed the south-east coast during the afternoon and were engaged by our fighters reached the London area. A small number of bombs was dropped on London and suburban areas and some places on the south coast and Kent and Surrey. At Hastings several houses were demolished and a fire started which was quickly under control. The number of casualties was very few. From all other quarters reports indicate that there was no severe damage and that casualties were few. Search for Victims Night raiders bombed 35 London districts to 1.30 a.m. A number of people travelling in a suburban omnibus was killed or injured. The bus was tossed across the road into a shop window. Two other buses close behind were badly damaged. A second bomb wrecked a row of shops nearby. Daylight found rescue squads still searching for victims under the debris. Trolleybus wires were ripped down and glass was carpeted over a wide area. However, traffic was proceeding normally before the morning rush. It was a cold breakfast for many Londoners as a result of the bursting gas and water mains. Bombs were unloaded on Liverpool and other northwest towns without any effort to locate military objectives. A number of hotels, shops and commercial premises was damaged. Rescuers, in addition to digging out many humans, saved a number of horses trapped under the ruins of large stables. Several fire bombs penetrated the wards of a Hospital in the southwest. Some patients leapt out of their beds and smothered the bombs with dressing gowns. Enemy Lose Eight Planes Later reports of yesterday’s air battles show that in all eight enemyaircraft were destroyed. Nine Roya? Air Force fighters were lost but the pilots of six of them are safe. It is officially stated that our fighters intercepted three of 20 raiders attacking Liverpool last night, pursued them over North Wales and shot down all three. Three German airmen, believed to be members of the crew of a bomber engaged in the attack on Liverpool, were rescued from a rubber boat several miles from the Welsh coast. A clear sky and bright moonlight favoured raiders over Britain last night, but all the Germans could do was to launch a series of abortive attacks. A flight of Dorniers raided Liverpool just after dark, and British fighters shot down three, while the remainder were chased over Wales, where one machine was seen to be in difficulties, and one pilot bailed out. The liveliest spot last night was “Hell Fire Corner,” or the Dover area. An hour and a half after dark German guns at Calais and Cap Gris Ne2 bombarded this area for : hour, and after a short lull the bombardment was resumed for a further two hours. English batteries replied, and cliff watchers saw big explosions and later brilliant flashes as the Royal Air Force went into action. Canterbury Cathedral Damaged All daylight raiders were driven off. No heavy attacks were made during the day. There were not many casualties, but a few people were killed. Bombs fell near the Canterbury Cathedral, damaging some of the windows. Fortunately, most of the valuable stained glass windows had been removed before the outbreak of war, and tha damage done by the bombs was not serious. The structure of the building is intact. Air raid casualties last night included several drowned when a high explosive ' imb wrecked a newsagent’s shop and fractured a watermain. The owner, who was rescued with his pet Alsatian dog, said that the water reached his chest when the rescuers tunnelled through the debris. Several were killed and injured by a fire blast ? the same road.