RAID ON PORTSMOUTH

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 January 1941, Page 5

RAID ON PORTSMOUTH

HEAVIEST OP THE WAR | . ■ ■ | LORD MAYOR'S DECLARATION. * ; CITY BRUISED BUT NOT DAUNTED iDHH-h OiHL'LM Wfreles*.l j KUGBW January 11. The enemy's night bombing on ] Friday w,is practically confined to Portsmouth, which suffered Its most severe raid of the war. Th,- Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, in j a tribute to citizens and the civil defence services, said: "At last the blow ] has fallen. Our proud city has been hit and hit very hard by the enemy. ] We are bruised, but not daunted." All reports of the raid are in ngreei men! that the raiders were kept very i high bv an intense anti-aircraft barrage They adopted the newest prnc* ; tice of the German air force by show* , cring down firebombs nt an early stage ] of the attack. .After a few hours there : was ti pause and later a new wave of I raiders arrived. Tlie damage "was minii misvd in a number of areas by the cfI llcient work of fire-bomb fighting paniit s of neighbours, who extinguished : hundreds of incendiaries.* i An official communique states that I the enemy attacked Portsmouth last i night. Fires were caused, but the situ- ; alien is wi ll in hand Considerable ] damage was done to houses and comim< rci.il premise*-;. A number of pet - : -<>ns were killed ;,n<l injured A few I bombs were dropp'd elsewhere, and ] damaged hou-a -■ but killed no one. CHURCHES HIT DAMAGE DONE TO HOSPITAL. LONDON. January IL

Several churches and cinemas were hit .r. Portsmouth last night. A hospital I -■( e.vmi: casualties was damaged. It was almost impossible for fire fight- < i t- m;! with all the incendiary mb-.. A number of fires burned for :n<- tune v.hi!e the raiders dropped high explosive bombs. '1 he Germans renewed the attack later m tlie night A torrent of incendiary bombs rained down. A high ex-jlc-.ivi' bomb h'-i a Roman Catholic Church, killing four women members ■ ! tit,- who w<*ie found kneeling their heads bowed as if in prayer. \ mother and her son were killed •alien a raider bombed a south-east