1939-05-16 — Page 5

THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 16, 1989.

[

Briton's Close Shave In Wanton

Bombing of Wenchow

Page

QUEENS

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At Last! A STOR“ AS BIG AS THEIR DANCING!

"Wanton destruction of human life and property in LAST 2 DAYS

an undefended town" is the description given to the "China Mail” by an officer on a British coastal vessel in an exclusive eye-witness ac- count this morning of the bombing of Wenchow recently.

.

After witnessing the bombing at close range, hel

said there were times when a sailor envied those with "nice office jobs in safe Hong Kong!" He continued:-

"We were anchored in the river opposite Wenchow City when the air-raid alarm went off at about 3.30 p.m. As we watched, a Japanese sea-plane approached, very low and as it flashed past our bridge we could see the machine carried four bombs.

"He flew low over the city, which was obviously undefended, for he could have been shot down

with

ease by machine-guns.

He then

made bombing altitude and releas-

ed his bombs, one after the other. After viewing the havoc he created, he flew off.

had

at

"The next day was a fine, clear day, ideal for a bombing raid. This time, three 'planes were used, the air-raid alarm being sounded 11.30 a.m. At first, the 'planes cir- cled over the city and dropped a few bombs some distance away from us.

Then a 'plane flew over- head and I saw a bomb dropped al- most directly over us.

NARROW ESCAPE

"It looked at first as though we were going to be hit! There was a rushing noise, and then a combina- tion of 'crack' and 'crash,' and we saw the bomb land on a sampan ly- ing alongside a Portuguese motor- boat. The bomb blew the sampan to pieces and smashed in the side of the motor-boat. The captain of the Portuguese craft was wounded and six men were killed. bomb landed abreast of another British steamer just ahead of one fragment actually entering her saloon and another slightly wound- ing a Chinese on deck.

ANTI-BRITISH

PROPAGANDA DECREASING

LONDON, TO-DAY. THE ACTIVITY OF ORGANIS- JAPANESE PROPAGANDA ED

INTERESTS AGAINST BRITISH IN THE JAPANESE-CONTROL- LED DISTRICTS OF CHINA HAS DIMINISHED IN INTENSITY,

This was stated in reply to ques- tions in the House of Commons yesterday by the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr. R. A. Butler, who quoted recent reports from the Consul-General in Shang- hai.

The Consul-General, he said, had raised the matter with his Japan- ese colleague in the early part of last month.

The situation, said Mr. Butler, Another would continue to be watched, and if necessary, representations would

Reuter. be made. us,

"In all, 12 bombs were dropped in the vicinity, demolishing a num- ber of houses close to the water- front, killing about 200 people and wounding many more.

JUNKERS PLANE ARRIVES

von

The German Junkers plane J.U.52, piloted by Baron "Later in the day, the air-raid Crablenz, unexpectedly arrived alarm went off again—and this in the Colony from Formosa yes- on the return time there was a general exodus. terday at 2 p.m. Our vessel was crowded with refu-flight-from Japan to Berlin. gees, mostly women and children,

the and

The plane will leave to-morrow but including a policeman and some morning for Hanoi. official or other who calmly curled As we neared Wenchow Point, we up on our couch in the saloon and went to sleep! Meanwhile, dense crowds poured out into the paddy- fields or made for the opposite bank of the river in crowded sampans.

DIRECT HIT

"A plane, soon arrived, but it did After cir- not drop any bombs. cling around, it flew off, peppering a passing junk with machine-gun bullets as it did so.

·

"The next morning, we set sail.

"NIKS

MABELL

A. Guaranteed Cure, For, Hong Kong, Foo

heard guns being fired from sea and shells dropped here there, sending up geysers of waters. We saw a junk sailing along about One mo- a hundred yards away. ment, she was sailing peacefully along and the next there was crack, a flash and she disappeared. The Japanese had scored a direct hit!

"We passed a number of blazing junks as we proceeded out to sea.

2

"The shelling and bombing of the forts was, of course, quite in order. Indeed, I fancy some far-sighted Chinese military gentlemen of a by gone era constructed these forts with the specific idea of having the enemy waste his shells upon them, for there was no response from the forts to the Japanese shelling,

“One cannot help feeling a deep sympathy with the relatives of the dead in Wenchow City, and also a feeling of furious... resentment against the Japanese for the wan- top destruction of human life and property, in an undefended town."

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